At World's End
by Anti Darth Ani
Summary: Buu has finally been killed, but things for our favorite Saiyan and Videl are far from perfect. Videl is having problems concerning her father and Gohan is having problems controlling his feelings. The bad guys are out to get Videl and Gohan. Oh dear!
1. Say It Ain't So

At World's End  
  
Chapter 1: Say It Ain't So  
  
Hey everyone! For all of you who actually read these little author notes I put at the top of some of my chapters, and you've read this part of the story before, you'll notice that this has changed. I've gone through my story again, from the beginning, and I've edited it. And I've also changed thoughts from brackets to little '', because they seem more natural. For those of you who have read the beginning of my story before I put it in the freezer, I thank you so much for returning. I realize just how long it's been, but I'm going to be updating this again and I hope to finish it soon. I'll add a new chapter at least once a week. Read on and thanks to all my reviewers!  
  
+++++++++++  
  
Videl screamed as an icy blue, darkest surrounded her body. She kicked and punched her invisible enemy. Trying to breathe was just too hard for her. The blue jelly like substance felt freezing against her plain, pale skin, and for the first time Videl noticed that she was naked. She was swimming, naked, in a vast emptiness, choking without oxygen.  
  
A bright light flashed in front of her eyes and Videl felt herself being sucked down into a whirlpool of the jelly substance. Swimming against the current sucking her down was just too hard for Videl. She needed to breathe and so she tried. Instead of air, the gel filled her mouth and lungs and Videl automatically felt her life give way. 'Crap,' she thought, 'I'm dead and I'm dieing again. Life just isn't fair at all.'  
  
Once Videl had enough strength to open her eyes, she realized that the gel was gone and the common images of Earth's surface filled her mind. As soon as she felt her butt hit the ground, she knew she wasn't dead anymore. She was far from it. 'I have no idea what the hell just happened, but I know that it's good to be back home again. Thanks to whoever saved me.'  
  
Dieing had been worse than Hell. She almost wished that she had been sent to Hell instead, but thought better of it because she didn't want to get too much of a tan. She might have ended up with skin cancer and nobody, not a one, wanted that.  
  
The sounds of noisy people filled her ears and as she looked around, she saw the whole Earth's population, all dropped into a small town which Videl knew wasn't Satan City. After glancing around several times, Videl's whole face lit up when her eyes landed on the person she wanted to see the most - Gohan.  
  
At that same moment, Gohan turned and faced her way. Their eyes locked for a few brief seconds. 'Boy it's good to be home,' Gohan thought as he stood up straight while Videl hurried his way. Before he knew it, Videl had jumped into his arms and squealed with delight. "The earth is saved! Isn't it great?" she asked him.  
  
Gohan stared down at the petite figure that had her arms encircled around his waist. "Yeah, it's great," he agreed.  
  
Videl let go of him and stared up at him in shock. 'What the hell is the matter with him?' she thought. "Buu is dead and all of Earth's population has been brought back to life and you're not happy?"  
  
Gohan moved away from Videl. "Not all of Earth's population is back." Gohan powered up into a Super Saiyan and the eyes of all the Earthlings turned to him as his eyes turned a bright aqua and his hair a yellow blond. Without thinking anymore of it, he took off in the general direction where he felt Bulma's, Chi-Chi's, Goten's and Trunks's ki from. As he flew off over the surface of the planet, he realized that not only had the people been restored, but all of the towns had as well and people were making their way back to their homes as if nothing had happened. 'But something has happened and you fools don't even know it. My father and Vegeta sacrificed their lives for you again and you don't even know. You just go live your lives without care and let Hercule take all the claim again. You're not hurting anyone but yourselves.' But he was wrong. They were hurting him. Gohan held back tears as he sped away faster to reach his mother and try to comfort her when she found out. He also needed to be there for his brother, Trunks, and his dear friend, Bulma.  
  
"Gohan!" he heard his brother's cheery voice ring out as he came to a halt in the front yard of Capsule Corp. As soon as Gohan had touched down and transformed back into a plain Saiyan, Goten leaped into his arms. "We're alive and Buu is not. We're alive and Buu is not. Ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha!" the little Saiyan laughed as he sang his song. Trunks sang with him and the two took to the air, chasing each other around in circles and singing their celebration song.  
  
Chi-Chi ran up and clutched her son in a death grip. Tears stained her face and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "I was so worried about you." She froze for a second. "Wait a minute. Where is your father?" she asked in a hushed voice so Goten wouldn't hear. Bulma walked over to greet Gohan and Gohan grew extremely nervous. "I'm afraid that Father and Vegeta weren't brought back to life with the rest of us because they were already dead during their fight with Buu so when the Dragonballs were used, they weren't strong enough to bring Father and Vegeta back from two deaths."  
  
Chi-Chi gasped and Bulma fell to the floor, crying. "Vegeta," she whispered, "you stupid bastard." She put her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. From the way Vegeta always treated Bulma, Gohan was likely to have thought that it wouldn't have affected her in such a way as to curse his name, but Gohan knew just how special the relationship between Vegeta and Bulma really was.  
  
Seeing his mother crying the way she was, Trunks touched ground and ran over to her. "Mom, what's the matter?" Bulma didn't answer. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him closer to her. "He sacrificed himself twice just to try to beat one horrible monster," she cried.  
  
Goten had also run over to his mother, and Chi-Chi held him close to her chest. "It's going to be okay," she told her youngest son. "Everything is going to be alright, you'll see," she said. But Gohan knew better. Every time something like this happened, nothing got better. Matters always just got worse. Seeing the way the families were acting, Gohan couldn't take it. He took off again but this time, he didn't know where he was flying to. The wind was going to take him where he needed to be. The only thing that mattered was that he was alone. If his father was alive, Gohan would have killed him himself for the pain Goku was putting his mother through again. The pain he was putting his whole family through. The pain that Goku was never alive to know.  
  
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Videl pulled her bathrobe around her skin tighter as she walked in her fuzzy slippers down the huge stairs of her mansion. Worry for her father was minimal compared for the worry she was stressing herself about in concern for Gohan. 'Why did he just take off like that? He didn't say anything or even hint to something. He just said 'Not all of the people are back'. Did he mean my father or Dende or his mother and brother or Trunks? Who did he mean? I hate it when his so mysterious. It makes him so hard to be around.' Videl shuffled her way into the kitchen and took out the carton of milk, which she opened and drank right out of.  
  
'Being dead really makes you hungry,' she reflected as she made herself a large ham and cheese sandwich with Mayo, mustard, pickles, relish, and lettuce. She managed to eat the whole sandwich within four bites. She threw away the paper plate and sat back down at the table. Videl couldn't remember a time in her life that she had felt so lonely. 'Mother's dead, Gohan left, and no one knows where Father is.' Videl sighed and leaned against the table. 'Why is Gohan taking up so much of my thoughts now? I know I might care for him as a friend, but I can't have enough feelings to miss him this much, can I?' Videl sighed. 'It's not possible that I think about Gohan as more than a friend. His the kind of brother figure to me - the person I turn to when I need help saving the world. Not the person I want to have feelings for. All of this is far too confusing.'  
  
The kitchen lights turned on and Videl jumped out of her chair and spun around. The maid, Melissa, was standing in the doorway with a sad expression on her face. "Is everything alright, Miss Videl? Not to intrude, but I heard you come down here and I was a little worried about you. I figured you had a lot on your mind and I just wanted you to know that if you need anything, I'm here to get it for you."  
  
Videl took in a deep breath and then sighed. "Thank you very much for your concern and your offer, it is very kind of you to being watching out for me. But I am truly fine. I was a little thirsty and had a craving for a nice, tall sandwich and I didn't want to bother the chef, so I decided there was no harm in fixing myself a light snack."  
  
Melissa bent her head down slightly. "Mistress Videl, you do not need to care about bothering the chef or anyone else who works here at your father's mansion. It is work for us to serve you. We do not earn our keeping if we cannot serve you. Please let us know about any problems you have in the future and we will fix them for you."  
  
Videl felt pity for poor Melissa. Melissa was only one year older than Videl, yet she had worked in the mansion for almost five years. Hercule never treated any of his staff fairly - he instead treated them like slaves. Videl felt pity for Melissa and all the others that had to put up with her father's constant needs and wants, it just wasn't fair. "How about this. My father isn't home right now. I don't know where exactly he is, but he is away. While he is away, I expect you to keep the mansion in order, but you do not need to worry about me. I will make my own bed, cook my own meals, and get off my butt when I want something. I want you and the chef to relax a little and have a little rest while my father is away."  
  
Melissa nodded and tilted her head down again. "This is a very kind offer from you Miss Videl and I am sure that the entire staff will be pleased. We cannot thank you enough."  
  
"You don't have to thank me. Your happiness is enough for me," Videl answered softly before leaving the kitchen and going back upstairs. She thought about going back to her room, but she felt a little nervous about going back, so she decided instead to take a short visit to her father's room. Hercule's room was on the other wing of the mansion where no other rooms where. Hercule liked his privacy while he trained and did well, other things that Videl didn't really want to think about.  
  
The bedroom door was unlocked and Videl softly pushed the door in, trying to make as little noise as possible. Even the maids knew that Videl wasn't supposed to enter her father's room, and Videl congratulated herself on giving them some time off. With free time, she doubted that the maids would bother with Hercule's room. Videl couldn't even remember the last time she had been in her father's room. Once she started to think about it, Videl realized that she hadn't ever been in her father's room. She had never seen his living quarters in the new mansion. She had only seen the bedroom he had shared with her mother when they lived in their old house. Videl mourned for her mother and pain was brought back as she saw many pictures of her mother and father on the dresser and nightstand. 'Why did you have to leave us, Mother? Father wasn't ready for you to go and neither was I. He has been drowning in pity and sorrow ever since and it has turned him into an egotistical man who does nothing more than train. I wish you were still here to help me.'  
  
Videl spotted a special picture that caught her eye. She reached for the picture frame and softly picked it up. A still image of Videl, Hercule, and her mother was captured on the last vacation they had had as a family. Tears filled Videl's eyes as she remembered that it was on that vacation that Videl had gotten her first crush on a boy. 'Things are different now,' she told herself. 'Without you here, Mother, I have no one to talk to about my feelings towards guys and fighting. Without you, I'm always getting stuck in situations with Father that I don't have a clue about.' By now, tears were falling a mile a minute. Videl set that picture frame back down and held up a more recent picture of just her father and a group of his fans. 'If you were still here, Father would have never lied about beating Cell. He wouldn't be a celebrity and things would be normal again.' Anger filled Videl and before she could stop herself, she had thrown the picture frame into the wall where it broke and shattered into a thousand pieces. 'My life now is like the broken picture frame,' Videl thought sadly as she turned off the light and closed the door, making her way back to her bedroom.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan closed his eyes and let the wind play with his hair. The cool breeze felt nice - nicer than any kind of air in the Other World. Father... Gohan ran his hands through his hair and pulled on the roots. He was tired and frustrated with the way things were going. On his first day back alive, he discovered that his dad and Vegeta had both been killed and they hadn't been brought back to life by the Dragonballs. The promise his father had made to him kept running like a tape through his mind. 'I'll be home to take care of you, Goten, and Chi-Chi, I promise.' It played over and over again, tormenting him. 'I'll be home to take care of you, Goten, and Chi-Chi, I promise.' Gohan groaned. "Why did you have to leave me like this?" he questioned into the sky. "You promised to take care of Goten and Mother and you aren't even here!"  
  
Gohan lifted his knees up to his chest and breathed in a deep breath. "And so now I'm stuck here, trying to take care of Mother, Goten, and go to school. Plus, all these mixed feelings and thoughts about Videl. Bulma is going to be extremely depressed because not only is her husband dead, but so is one of her best friends. And Vegeta has been alive for all of Trunks's life so Trunks is going to be very upset. I don't know how to deal with this."  
  
"Gohan?" a voice whispered. He cocked his head to the side and saw Videl just standing on the other side of the ledge. Her white dress was swaying in the wind and her hair was flowing through the air like water.  
  
"Videl, what are you doing here?" He stood up and turned to face her, dusting off his outfit. Videl smiled sweetly at him and walked up to him. She touched her clammy fingers to his cheek. "A little stressed out?" she asked.  
  
Absentmindedly, Gohan pushed a few loose strands of Videl's hair behind her ear. "Maybe just a little."  
  
She smiled again and moved her fingers down his cheek and rested them on his chin. "Well then maybe you just need something to relax you a little," she whispered.  
  
Gohan's heart was beating a mile a minute and any second, he knew he was going to break out in a sweat. "What did you have in mind?" he asked. 'And how did you find me all the way out here?' Videl didn't say anything. Instead, she just pulled his chin down closer - much closer - to her lips. His lips were only an inch away and he was feeling very uncomfortable when Videl's hand started to fade away. As Gohan watched, so did the rest of her body until there was nothing left of her except a faint smell of raspberries.  
  
'What the heck just happened?' Gohan asked himself as he sat back down at the end of the ledge, trying to remember every feature of the ghost Videl.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl shot up straight in bed. She gasped for air, her heart pounding frantically. 'What was that?' she questioned herself about her dream. 'I did not just try to kiss Gohan. I couldn't have. The dream was far to different from real life. Why would Gohan be out in the sandy domes on a cliff? That dream was eerie and far too life like. I need to try to go back to sleep.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Birds chirped and fluttered around on the lawn. Videl wanted nothing more that to just kill them all. Don't judge her wrong - Videl loved animals - but she was tired. She couldn't go back to sleep after her odd dream about Gohan. She didn't know what to think of it. 'Does it mean I have feelings for him? Or does it mean that he's upset and stressed out over something?' Videl didn't know, but she had a hunch that she would be able to ask him at school.  
  
After dragging her butt out of bed, Videl decided to do something she had never had the courage to do before. She pulled her bathrobe on over her silk nightgown and made her way back to her father's room. She opened the door and found that the picture frame was still laying, broken, on the carpet. But that wasn't what Videl had come to get. She flung open the walk-in closet door and rummaged in the clothing until, under it, she found her mother's old trunk. Using what strength she had recovered, she pulled the heavy trunk out.  
  
Taking in a deep breath, Videl flipped open the top to discover a treasure load of her mother's old clothes. Clothes that her mother had worn when she was Videl's age. Trying not to think about it, Videl looked through all of the clothes until she found an outfit that suited her. The top was a black, low v-neck halter top. The pants were a fluorescent-blue leopard skin design made of leather. 'I'm wearing this for you, Mother. Not for anyone else.' Videl caught herself blushing. 'Well, maybe one other person.'  
  
Videl closed the trunk and pushed it back into the back of the closet. She carried the top and pants back to her bedroom, where she changed into her mother's old attire. She wore her black sandals with the outfit and tied her hair in two braids, one on either side of her head, just above her ears. 'Please be proud.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl could already hear the guys whistling at her as she walked into the courtyard at Orange Star High School. Videl tried to ignore them, but she wanted nothing less than to ram her elbow into their stomachs and her knee in their crouches. She smiled at the thought and held her text book closer to her chest to keep prying eyes away. The idea didn't contribute much help, but at least it made Videl feel a little better about her outfit.  
  
The first bell rang and Videl raced into her homeroom, which happened to be math. Videl was the last one to enter the class before the tardy bell rang. Erasa leaned forward. "Where's Gohan?" she asked Videl.  
  
Videl shrugged. "How should I know?" she asked back.  
  
Erasa shrugged this time. "I don't know. It just seems like you and Gohan are close, that's all."  
  
"We are close. We're close friends. And nothing more," Videl hissed as she lowered her voice while the teacher started his lecture.  
  
Erasa tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Fine, no need to bite my head off for asking a simple question. And what's up with the new wardrobe? I like it!"  
  
Videl sighed and leaned on her arm. 'It's going to be a long day.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Since Gohan didn't turn up at school at all that day, Videl decided to pay a little visit to his house. She took off at the school grounds after school and flew straight to his house without stopping. Videl landed in his front yard about thirty minutes later, tired from the long haul. She stepped up to the front door. As soon as her knuckle had touched the door to knock, the door flew open and Gohan almost ran into her before he noticed her standing in front of him.  
  
Gohan stared at Videl. 'What on Earth is she doing here? And at a time like this? She really needs to plan her timing a little better.' Chi-Chi came storming after Gohan with a frying pan. "You get back here young man right now! You don't talk about your father like that in this house!" she yelled.  
  
Gohan sighed. "Then why do you think I'm going outside?" he questioned.  
  
Chi-Chi gasped. "Don't you get smart with me, Mister, or I swear to God I will-" for the first time, Chi-Chi saw Videl standing in the doorway. Chi-Chi dropped the frying pan at once and pulled Videl into the house. "Such a nice surprise to see you Videl! How are you? And your father, how's he doing?"  
  
Gohan glanced at Videl and then exited the house through the front door. Videl stood up to leave, but Chi-Chi tried to stop her from leaving. "Stay a little longer, Videl. Gohan will be back soon enough. He's really upset about his father that he's being a tad bit antisocial."  
  
Videl raised an eyebrow. "What happened to his father?" she questioned.  
  
Chi-Chi looked down at her fingers. "Oh, you know. This and that happened and well, he made a decision to do something and it ended up that he couldn't, well," Chi-Chi choked on her words and a tear ran down her cheek. She stood up abruptly, and she wiped away her fallen tears. "Maybe you should hear it from Gohan. If you go now, I'm sure you will be able to catch up with him."  
  
Videl stood up and nodded. 'One minute, the woman's clinging to me and telling me to stay. Then poof, she's trying to shove me out of the house. It's no wonder Gohan turned out the way he did. Of course, why Chi-Chi wanted me to stay in the first place is beyond me. The lady hates my guts.' Videl closed the front door behind herself. It made a soft clicking noise as it locked. 'Now if I were Gohan, where would I go?' she asked herself. She glanced up to the sky and noted that the clouds were getting heavy and gray, threatening to release a down pour of rain. If she was going to talk to Gohan, she'd better find him fast.  
  
Videl walked quickly through the vast land in front of Gohan's house. Getting slightly annoyed, Videl took to the air and shot straight up, searching to find Gohan. She saw him sitting on a rock at a nearby lake. Videl flew diagonally downwards and landed behind a few bushes. She walked over to Gohan and sat down on the large rock next to him. "Hey," she said softly. "Hi," he answered, not bothering to face her. He threw a pebble into the water and it left ripples along the water surface. Videl tucked her hair behind her ears. "Why didn't you come to school today? Everyone was asking where you were."  
  
Gohan shrugged. "I needed to think about some things. School wasn't the place to think about them, so I stayed home. Plus, my mother needed some help around the house, so I stayed to help her with that."  
  
Videl sighed and felt a few, small raindrops hit her shoulders and face. "I heard that something happened to your father, but Chi-Chi didn't explain anything to me. She just simply told me to come out here and have you tell me."  
  
For the first time, Gohan turned to face Videl. "There's not that much to say." As soon as Gohan said that, the clouds burst open and rain started pouring down on the two teenagers. Videl got up and started running toward the house, but Gohan grabbed her wrist and held her back. Videl turned to face him. "My father died and he couldn't be brought back by the Dragonballs, which means that he won't be able to come back from the dead like everyone else. The same deal for Vegeta." 


	2. Dream Walking

At World's End  
  
Chapter 2: Dream Walking  
  
Please don't hate me for leaving the first chapter like that. Ready to start where we left off? Good!  
  
Last time on At World's End, all of the Earthlings are brought back to life, except Goku and Vegeta, which Gohan has just finished explaining to Videl in the pouring rain. Does that sound right to you?  
  
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"What?" Videl asked. What Gohan had just told her could not be true. She had not heard him right. The rain was messing with her hearing.  
  
"I said my father and Vegeta are dead," he repeated. Videl bit her lip. 'What do I say to him to comfort him? I have no idea what to say to him! It's just Gohan - say something!' "I'm so sorry, Gohan. I know how it feels to have lost a parent. My mother died when I was five. I'm still not over it and I don't think I ever will be."  
  
Gohan shrugged. "I guess I'm used to it by now. I mean, he died when I was five. Then he died again when I was eleven and he decided that he didn't want to be brought back to life. But then Buu came and he came back, and he promised me he would stay, but he wasn't able to."  
  
Gohan watched Videl's shocked face. "Gohan, I'm so sorry. It must be extra hard to have him die and then have him come back just to die again. I didn't know he had died before. Is there anything I can do to help you and your family?"  
  
Gohan shook his head. "Not really. My mother can be a very strong person when she needs to be. As for Goten, my father was dead when Goten was born, so Goten's used to not having a father figure around. My mother says it helps that he has an older brother to look up to."  
  
"What about you? How are you holding up?" Videl asked softly. She had so many mixed feelings for Gohan and the more he told her, the worse she felt for him.  
  
Gohan shrugged. "It's hard to complain about your father not being around when he's saved the world four or five times. It's just that it's painful having him and then having him taken away from me again. But I guess it also helps that I'm going to school this year. My mother thinks study will help ease the pain some."  
  
"Does it? I mean, does school help you forget about him any?" Videl asked.  
  
"School was never meant to make me forget him. I'll never forget him. But it doesn't help ease the pain anymore than fighting and martial arts help. Being alone helps too, but my mother doesn't like me being a hermit."  
  
"I really am sorry about your father, Gohan. I wish there is something, anything, that I could do to help you and your family."  
  
Gohan didn't say anything. The rain beat down harder on the two teens. "Maybe you should go home. It's getting late and you'll catch a cold. On second thought, why don't you come to my house until it stops raining? Hanging out at my house will be far better than flying in the rain."  
  
Videl smiled. "Thank you, Gohan. I think I'll take you up on your offer."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Ten minutes later, Videl had dried off and changed into one of Gohan's old t-shirts and a pair of his old sweatpants. Her hair was dried and put up in a sloppy ponytail. Once Videl made her way back into the family room, she realized why Gohan's family didn't need any help. Goten seemed perfectly happy chasing Gohan around the room, trying to hit Gohan with his Nurf gun. Gohan had a water gun and was squirting it like mad at his brother. Goten ran in front of Videl and Gohan accidentally squirted Videl. Gohan put down his water gun and Goten put down his as well.  
  
"What is the point in changing into dry clothes if you're just going to get me wet again?" Videl asked the boys.  
  
"To see what you look like in Gohan's clothes," Goten answered, doing a somersault over the arm of the couch. "You look funny, Videl."  
  
Videl smiled. "Thank you, Goten." Videl caught Gohan's eye. He seemed to be just staring at her and that made Videl blush slightly. 'Well, no guy has ever made me blush before.' Then Videl blushed even worse when she realized that she wasn't wearing her bra. 'Omigod he's staring at me and I'm not wearing a bra. Thank god this shirt is so baggy.' Videl smiled nervously just as Chi-Chi walked into the room. "How is everyone doing?" she asked politely.  
  
"There's no need for small chat, mother. You've met Videl before. And Videl, you've met my mother," Gohan said to state the obvious. I smiled at Chi-Chi and sat down on the couch.  
  
"The rain should quit soon, so you'll be able to leave," Gohan said.  
  
Videl nodded, taken back. 'Is he trying to kick me out? I've been nothing but nice. He invited me in, and now he's trying to kick me out again. What is up with this crazy family?' "Thank you so much for letting me stay here while it rains. I really appreciate the hospitality."  
  
It took an hour for the rain to stop. For that one hour, Goten had everyone playing Monopoly. Videl was excited when it stopped raining. It's not that she hated the Sons or anything, it was just that a whole hour of Monopoly with an eight-year-old can really drive at your nerves, especially when he's beating you. "I win!" Goten yelled as he did cartwheels around the room while Videl collected her top, pants, and bra. "Thank you again," Videl said as Gohan walked her to the front door.  
  
"Your welcome," he said and grinned at her.  
  
Videl felt herself blushing for the second time that day, all because of Gohan. "Well, I'll make sure I bring your clothes back."  
  
"Take your time. I don't wear them anymore."  
  
Videl nodded and then took off, somewhat happy to leave, and somewhat disappointed.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Hey, I'm home!" Videl called and then remembered that she had given the staff some vacation time. However, Melissa was at the door to greet her within seconds. "Welcome home, Miss Videl. Would you like me to take those clothes and dry them for you?"  
  
"You don't have to, Melissa. I can myself, it's really no trouble at all," Videl said, but Melissa took them away anyway. "But I must, Miss. And Master Hercule is waiting in his office for you. He seemed upset, but it could just be me."  
  
Videl was shocked to learn that her father was home. She raced up the stairs and slammed open the door to her father's office. Some slutty woman was sitting on his desk, wearing nothing more than a bra and underwear, both lace, and feeding him grapes. Hercule was laughing, at least until he saw his daughter. The slut was excused and Videl sat down in one of the chairs. "It's good to see that you haven't lost your taste in women," Videl said sarcastically.  
  
"Don't be like that, Videl. I wanted to meet with you to tell you," Hercule froze in mid sentence. "Whose clothes are you wearing, Videl?"  
  
Videl shrugged. "They could have belonged to the slut that just left. I noticed she was missing hers."  
  
Hercule sat up straight in his chair. "You like the way we live, don't you Videl? I know you do. I mean, you don't complain when I buy stores. And you certainly do not complain that I pay your credit card bills for you. Well, you get all these things because I'm famous. But being famous has its territory. For example, women are attracted to famous, handsome, strong men. Since I am strong, famous, and extremely handsome, many women are attracted to me. You just can't let that bother you anymore. Your mother died twelve years ago, Videl."  
  
"Stop! Don't you bring Mother into this conversation as an excuse why you can be dating women that are my age! They are my age! You are old enough to be their father. The only reason they are your slaves is so they can get a chunk of your fortune." Videl stood up and slammed her palms against the table. "I know you had your secret spies following me before the Buu attacks. Stay out of my life Hercule, or else!"  
  
"I am your father and you will treat me with respect!"  
  
"You only earn as much respect as you give, which leaves you at the bottom when respect is concerned. All you have ever cared about is yourself!" Videl stormed out of the office and slammed her bedroom door shut while she locked it. 'Mother, I wish he had died instead of you. I really need you.'  
  
Videl fell asleep quickly.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan's eyes snapped opened and he saw Videl standing in his bedroom doorway. 'What is going on? It can't be happening again.' Videl was now wearing a very revealing lace bra and a lace thong. Gohan's heart caught in his stomach at the sight of her. 'This is not going on!' Videl sat down at the edge of his bed. She turned her sweet, pale face to look at him. "I'm sorry about your father, Gohan. I wish I could help you with your pain." She crawled over next to him. "I wish I knew what would cheer you up."  
  
Gohan tried as hard as he could to swallow, but it still wasn't easy. She had just shown up in his room, wearing extremely arousing lingerie. 'And she still wants to cheer me up?' Videl inched closer to him and placed her arm around his shoulders. "Is there anything I can do you make you feel better? Anything at all?"  
  
"No," Gohan squeaked.  
  
Videl didn't listen. She pulled his head closer to hers and closed her eyes. Their lips brushed against each other before Videl vanished. Gohan ran his hand through his hair and waited for his heart rate to slow down to normal. 'I have got to stop drinking the water here.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl woke up again, sighing. She had been this close to kissing him and then she woke up. She scolded herself on her choice of sleeping attire. She knew that what was happening wasn't just a dream anymore. She didn't quite know what it was, but it wasn't dreaming. It was almost channeling.  
  
Realizing how excited she had gotten, Videl decided to change and try it again. She changed into a plain white tank top and forest green carpenter pants. Then she jumped back into bed and closed her eyes to fall back asleep and see where she ended up. Her dreams were getting stronger and it was getting harder for her to wake up, so maybe this time she wouldn't.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl found herself back on the cliff where Gohan was sitting. But this time, Videl was in total control of herself. She had the power of will over her own body. Somehow, she didn't think she was still sleeping.  
  
"Gohan, hi," she said softly to catch his attention.  
  
Gohan's eyes grew big. "Well, at least you aren't just in your underwear."  
  
Videl blushed. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to transport that time. Or the time before. This is the first time I've tried."  
  
Gohan stood up. "You've got me confused now."  
  
"Well, I've been going to sleep and finding myself all over the place. Like I was here last night. That was the first time and I had no control over my body and so my brain woke up quickly. Then, a little while ago, I totally forgot about my sleep walking, hints my clothing, and I had even less control, but my mind was more powerful, so I could stay in my walking state longer. And so then I tried it again and I was aware of my power to transport my body while I'm asleep, so I willed myself to not wake up and so instead, I ended up transporting my body here. I think it's quite cool."  
  
"Are you telling me that you just transported yourself here? And you've done it the past two times as well?"  
  
Videl nodded. "Except this is the only time I've had control over myself and it's also the first time I've finished a transportation, instead of waking up in the middle of it like the other two times."  
  
"So I'm not crazy?" Gohan asked me.  
  
I smiled. "Of course not." "Good," he smiled his smile that made Videl melt, "because I thought I was losing all my marbles for a while. But now I know otherwise, which is good."  
  
"Yeah," Videl said and then an uncomfortable silence slid over them. "Gohan?"  
  
Gohan looked up at her to meet her eyes, which sent chills down her spine. "Yeah, Videl?"  
  
"Why don't you like me?" she asked softly before she could stop herself.  
  
Gohan looked at her. "Why do you think that I don't like you?"  
  
"Well, it's just that when I was over here the other day and it rained, you and your mother seemed to want nothing more than to shove me right out of your house. I guess it just seemed out of character to me."  
  
"I don't dislike you, Videl. It's just that, well, I don't really know," he ran off the rest of the sentence.  
  
Videl stood closer to him, placing her right hand on his cheek. Gohan did the same and placed his left hand on Videl's cheek. Her heartbeat increased as she leaned up and closed her eyes, praying to God that Gohan wouldn't hate hurt. To her delight, Gohan leaned down and met her lips with his willingly. Videl threw her free arm around his neck and Gohan put his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Videl felt herself getting lost in him.  
  
Gohan felt her press her body up against him. She was going way too fast for his comfort. Gohan pulled away from him slowly. "I've been waiting two nights for that," she admitted.  
  
"Me too," Gohan agreed, mentally telling himself to breathe. "What now?" he asked.  
  
"I think now is when I leave," she told him.  
  
He nodded, but neither one of them let go. Instead, Gohan pulled her back to him, their lips meeting quickly. They kissed longer than the time before and they slowly broke apart when Videl needed to breathe. "We have to stop doing this," she whispered. He nodded, but they ended up lip-locked once again.  
  
This time, when Videl pulled away, she pulled her whole body away, letting go of him. "I'd better go or my father's going to kill me," she explained.  
  
"Right. Father. Kill," Gohan muttered.  
  
Videl smiled and closed her eyes tightly, trying to concentrate as hard as she could. The world seemed to sway and she threw an image of her room into her brain. Her body went limp and when she opened her eyes, she was back in her bed. 'This is going to be a very interesting and useful gift.' She smiled as she remembered the way Gohan had kissed her. Videl felt lightheaded and then fell back asleep. 


	3. You And Me Baby Ain't Nothin' But Wacky

At World's End  
  
Chapter 3: You And Me Baby Ain't Nothin' But Wacky  
  
How do you like my ideas so far? I just bought the new Linkin Park CD, Meteora, and so I'm really excited and decided to write another chapter for this fan-fic. Hope you enjoy. God, how I love Linkin Park...  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan sighed and slammed his head against his locker harder and harder. He felt a tap on his shoulder and jerked to a stop, turning around to greet Videl, who was back into her traditional Fight shirt and black shorts. "What are you doing, Gohan? Did you get a B plus on your test or something? It's not like it's the end of the world. Oh, sorry, it kindda just slipped out."  
  
Gohan leaned against his locker and banged his head one last time. "I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you? Bang bang-bang, bang-bang, bang. I'm my own one person rock band. How do I sound?" he asked her.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're high. Are you sure you're okay, Gohan? I mean, I didn't want to say anything, but you are looking a little pale."  
  
Gohan sighed. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little tired. Being dead and trying to study for final exams isn't as easy as I first thought it was going to be, but I think I'm going to be able to handle it, as long as I study hard enough."  
  
Videl sighed. "Yup, that's you. The world is saved finally, and what is Son Gohan thinking about? Why, he's worrying about studying for a stupid test that is most likely going to be canceled anyway."  
  
Gohan shot straight up. "They can't cancel the exams! If the teachers cancel the exams, then I can't get tested. If I'm not tested, then I wouldn't be allowed to apply to a nice university, and my mother will most likely kill me. I've got to talk to someone about this. The testing must go on!"  
  
Videl touched Gohan's arm softly. "Gohan, I was just pulling your leg. I doubt that the teachers are going to cancel the exams. I swear, Gohan, I don't know anyone else who would want to take exams like you. You live to study and to serve your mother. But I guess it's in a good way. Just make sure you don't let the whole studying all the time thing get to you, or else you might end up a freak like all of the other extremely smart people."  
  
Gohan shrugged. "I don't have a problem being smart. I think it suits me well. In addition, once I get into a good university, my mother will finally get off of my case about my studying habits and let me fight and train Goten. I just wish my father was here to help him." Gohan locked his locker and spun the combination lock. "There I go again, thinking about my father like that again. I guess I just can't help it. My father was here when I was growing up and he isn't here for Goten. Things just don't seem to be fair." Gohan glanced down at Videl. "I'm sorry. I'm probably boring you out of your mind. It just seems so natural to think about my father."  
  
"Believe me. I know what it's like. My mother died when I was only five. I always find myself thinking about her, even if I don't want to. You're right, it just seems so natural to think about our parents once they've perished. But a look at it this way, your father has died before and he was alive again, so chances are high that he will end up alive again. And to top it off, you don't have to live with a psycho, mentally retarded father who is turned on by women who aren't even old enough to be his children. Talk about having a messed up family and life. From my point of view, your family is perfectly normal."  
  
"Yeah. I guess that's why it's easy to talk to you about my family. First of all, you know how out of this world my family, and species, is and you understand what it's like to have to suffer without a parent. Besides, you're suck with a crazy parent, sure your father is alive and my mother is alive, but we have to admit that neither one of them are completely sane. It's nice to have a friend to talk to about this type of thing."  
  
Videl nodded and clutched her text books tighter. 'What is wrong with you, Gohan? Calling me a friend! Did you forget that we kissed yesterday? Or did you just happen to blackout and lose all of your memory?' Or, a terrible thought ran through Videl's mind before she could stop it, 'do you not care about me? Are you pretending that we never kissed because you were ashamed at kissing me?' "Yeah, Gohan. It's wonderful to have a great friend like you to talk to about my mother. If you ever need to talk about your father, I'm here to listen." Videl walked off down the hall, trying to keep her tears to herself. 'Fine. You be in denial, Gohan. You'll pay for missing with my feelings; for missing with my heart.'  
  
Videl made her way through the busy halls of her high school and found her way into her English class just as the bell rang. 'How did I become the last person to make it to class before the bell rings? I used to be one of the first ones in.' Gohan ran in as soon as the bell stopped ringing. 'Well, I just I can always count on Gohan for being late.' Gohan scanned the room quickly, and of course, the only empty seat was right next to Videl. Gohan quickly sat down next to her.  
  
"Class, please put all your belongings on the floor. All you need is a pencil. We are going to be taking a pop quiz today on the works of Shakespeare. There will be no talking during the test. The test should take you all period. Should you finish your test early, just sit there and think about something else like you usually do in my class."  
  
"Excuse me, Mr. Waters, but we took this test yesterday. Why are we taking the same test over?" Videl asked.  
  
Everyone in class turned to face her. Mr. Waters stared at her, a confused look on his face. "Videl, we didn't have class yesterday. Yesterday the school was closed. Today is the first day back. We couldn't have possibly taken the test yesterday. Are you sure you're feeling okay? Would you like to visit the nurse's office?"  
  
Videl shook her head. "I feel fine. I just don't understand. I was here at school yesterday. And I took this test. I know I missed at least one question because you said to list five famous works of Shakespeare and I could only remember three. And then you asked a question about where he was born and I forgot that too."  
  
Mr. Waters stared at Videl. "You keep telling the class what is on the test, and I'll have to send you to the front office for cheating during a quiz. This is a serious issue, Miss Satan, so sit down and shut up!"  
  
Videl was shocked. She sat down and buried her head in her hands. 'What the hell is happening here?'  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Videl, is everything all right? You've seemed a little upset all day. And what happened in Mr. Waters' class today? He's never had to tell anyone in the class to shut up before," Erasa observed as they walked into the courtyard as school was dismissed.  
  
Videl shrugged. "Sure, I'm fine. It's just that," Videl sighed, "oh, never mind. It's not even worth talking about. This one person is just confusing me so much and I don't understand him. He's so unemotional that it's kind of freaking me out. And he tries to talk to me about serious things, but then things change in a flash and acts so clueless. And what happened in class was just a misunderstanding."  
  
"It's okay. I mean, your parents are supposed to be clueless. You can't blame your father for being clueless. He is the world champion," Erasa reminded Videl.  
  
Videl rolled her eyes at her best friend. 'She thinks I'm talking about my father. Gohan isn't the only clueless one. Maybe it's a mass virus that is spreading.' Well, Videl couldn't handle all the stupidity that was being thrown at her. Videl flew off and sped up. She didn't stop until she reached her bedroom balcony. Then she threw open the sliding glass door and slid it shut behind her. Videl didn't want to deal with her father at that time, so she thought it best not to even tell him that she was home.  
  
Videl sighed and threw Linkin Park's CD, Meteora, into her boom box. The rock music would help her calm down, she decided.  
  
'Peep the style and the kids checking for it,  
  
The number one question is,  
  
How could you ignore it,  
  
We drop right back in the cut,  
  
Over basement tracks,  
  
With raps that got you backing this up like rewind that'  
  
She laid down on the bed, bouncing her feet with the rhythm, eyes closed, consumed by the lyrics and music. There was a pounding on her bedroom door and Hercule threw it open. "Turn that noise off!"  
  
"Why? You can't make love in your office with my music as a distraction?" Videl asked.  
  
"No! I mean yes! Well, I don't know what I mean, but turn off that noise right now!"  
  
Videl rolled her eyes and turned the boom box off. "What makes you think that you are able to boss me around?"  
  
"Well, first of all, I'm your father. And then there is the fact that this is my mansion that I bought with my money from being famous. So if you want to be able to live in this house of mine, I suggest you obey my rules."  
  
Hercule slammed the door as he left back to his office. Videl sighed and banged her head against the headboard of her bed. 'You die, and suddenly the whole worlds gone crazy. Even the people who helped saved the world aren't completely sane. What is up with that?' Videl closed her eyes. The day before seemed so long ago. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to remember it. Maybe she shouldn't even be able to dream walk like that. Videl didn't know if being a dream walker was as good as she thought. Ever since she had discovered her power, ever since she had used it, things hadn't gone exactly right.  
  
'Gohan kissed me yesterday. That's all I can think about; nothing else matters. So then why, if I feel this way, does he seem so out of it? He doesn't even seem to realize what happened at his house. And then there was the whole taking the test over again deal. Something is not right. What is going on around here these days?'  
  
There was a knock on the door. Videl sat up as Melissa opened the door quietly. "Miss Videl, there is someone downstairs to see you."  
  
Videl nodded and went downstairs. Gohan was standing in the family room, waiting for her. Gohan grinned when he saw Videl come down the stairs. He had been really worried about her after her scene with Mr. Waters earlier that day. "Hey, Videl."  
  
Videl smiled back at him. "Hi, Gohan. Is there something you needed help with?"  
  
Gohan just looked at her. 'Maybe I should mind my own business instead of dragging myself into this whole mess.' "I was just wondering what happened with Mr. Waters. Everyone was talking about you like you've lost your mind."  
  
Videl sighed. "Gohan, I really don't want to talk about it. All I know is that I went to school yesterday and I took that test yesterday."  
  
"But you were over at my house yesterday."  
  
"The only reason I was over at your house was to ask you why you weren't at school. I went to school yesterday and I don't care what people are saying about me. I was at school and I took that stupid test."  
  
"It just seems odd that you are the only one who remembers going to school yesterday. It doesn't mean that you're crazy."  
  
"Gohan, are you saying that you think I'm crazy?" Videl shot out.  
  
"No, I didn't say that. I said you're not crazy. It just seems a little odd."  
  
"You're telling me? I'm the one everyone is treating like a freak! I swear for the freedom of this Earth that I went to school yesterday. I still don't understand. Maybe it has something to do with my dream walking power. That could be causing all these problems, but it's a far off idea."  
  
"Dream walking? What are you talking about?" Gohan asked.  
  
Videl was puzzled. "I explained it to you yesterday, right before we," Videl gasped. 'Kissed! Right before we kissed! But it happened yesterday and all of yesterday was changed and twisted, so the kisses never happened and that's why he doesn't remember and why he doesn't know a thing about the dream walking. Which means I'm saved; why Gohan didn't say anything about us kissing. I'm a freaking scientist!' "Never mind about what we did. This is great! I figured it out! The only reason you don't know is because I told you yesterday night. Except, not all of yesterday happened, only parts of it did. And my final dream walking didn't happen! Except I don't think that the dream walking has any power to change and distort the past. I still don't understand that part."  
  
"You realize that you've totally lost me, don't you? I have no idea what you are talking about, Videl. First of all, what is dream walking?" Gohan asked. Videl smiled. "It's my own power. I can fall into a sleeping state and then control my brain to transport me to other places. I don't know the extent of my power, because I've only tried it a few times and I haven't mastered it yet, but I'm hoping that I will be able to control it enough that I will be able to just transport without falling into the state of sleeping. But I haven't even mastered controlling where I go, so I have a while."  
  
Gohan just nodded and I realized that he was still just as confused as before. "I bet you anything that a virus is still spreading, the way everyone is acting."  
  
Gohan raised his eyebrows and he looked so cute for a moment. "Coming from the person who is talking gibberish in English class and talking about transporting herself in her sleep. Maybe the virus got you too."  
  
Videl smiled. "Tease all you want, but my power is real and as soon as I can control it, I'm going to be a very powerful person. Then we'll see who's laughing." Gohan grinned his wonderful Son grin. Videl was surprised to realize that her knees went weak. "Gohan..."  
  
Gohan looked down at her, a little surprised. She sounded upset and ashamed. "Yeah?"  
  
She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "and I know you don't understand why. But if you did know why, then you might be upset with me. So I'm truly sorry."  
  
Gohan took a step closer to Videl. "What are you talking about?"  
  
She shook her head and looked back up at him, smiling, a single tear running down her cheek. "Videl, you're confusing me. What's gotten into you?"  
  
"Feelings have. And emotions. I-I always promised myself that I wouldn't feel like this, but you-you're just different."  
  
Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, I think."  
  
She smiled. "It's a good thing to be different, I guess. It's just that..." 'It's just that you are different in the way that I like you. You scare me, Gohan. You're so kind and caring and that scares me. You scare me because you challenge me. You don't let me act spoiled and rich - you make me want to be myself. That scares me.'  
  
"Videl, please say something. You're starting to scare me, now."  
  
Videl laughed and dried a tear away. "You shouldn't be talking about scaring people."  
  
"And what it that supposed to mean? You're speaking in code and I don't understand it. Maybe I should just leave now and let you feel however you feel."  
  
Videl reached out for Gohan, but stopped her hand halfway. She froze for a second, but then sighed and pulled the hand back to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Maybe you should leave now. Sorry if I didn't help you any."  
  
Gohan nodded. He headed for the front door, but Videl didn't really want Gohan to leave. "Wait," she said softly and sighed, "please don't leave yet."  
  
Gohan turned back around to face her. Videl's mind was going crazy, throwing ideas back and forth. 'I'm a teenager. I can make my own decisions.' She walked up to him until her body was only a few inches away from his. Videl slowly placed her hands on his shoulders, losing her nerve halfway through, not getting her arms around his neck. She blushed slightly and looked down at her feet.  
  
Gohan stared in shock at Videl's forehead. 'Ok…' He used his fingers to lift her chin up so she was facing him. "Videl?" he whispered.  
  
She didn't say anything. Instead, she finished wrapping her arms around his neck. Gohan had to calmly remind himself to breathe. "Videl, I don't know what's going on but-" Gohan said softly, but was interrupted when Videl put her finger on his lips, amazed at how cool they were. "Shhh. Don't say anything," she whispered.  
  
Gohan nodded and Videl giggled. She slowly rested her head on his shoulder, facing his neck which smelt good. Gohan slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her a little closer.  
  
Videl sighed and pulled away from Gohan. "Thank you," she whispered.  
  
Their eyes locked, "You're welcome," Gohan whispered. They leaned in to kiss, but someone cleared their throat and Videl jerked away to see Melissa staring at them. "Don't forget that your father is upstairs, Videl. You know how he gets."  
  
Videl nodded and pulled away from Gohan. "I'd better leave. Good bye," Gohan told her.  
  
"Good bye," she whispered as Gohan disappeared through the front door. Videl sighed. 'So close, and yet, so far.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Ring ring, ring ring. Videl didn't bother answering the phone. She already knew is was Erasa. Erasa had already called the house several times in the past hour. Videl just sighed and looked out her window, where the tree was swaying back and forth. Then she heard a bang against her sliding glass door. Videl screamed and jumped out of the bed.  
  
Gohan was standing on her balcony. Videl waited until her nerves calmed down and then she slowly slid open the glass door. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. It was 9:30 PM and Videl had already changed into her sleeping attire - a tank top that didn't cover her stomach and a pair of loose sweatpants.  
  
Gohan didn't say anything for a minute. "I came to get my clothes that I lent to you. It turns out that I need them back right away."  
  
Videl raised an eyebrow. "Why? Do you have another wet girl at your house who needs to borrow them?" She asked as she went over to her dresser and pulled them out of her second drawer. She brought them back over to Gohan and tossed them at him. He easily caught them with one hand. "Thanks."  
  
Videl nodded, leaning against the sliding glass door. Gohan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I actually didn't come over to have you return the clothes."  
  
Videl pretended to be shocked. "Really? Then what ever did you come for, Gohan?"  
  
Gohan blushed slightly and hoped that Videl didn't notice. "I don't really know that quite yet. It's just that today, when we almost kissed in your hallway, I felt something. I mean, I don't know what is was, but I know it was something. And I guess I just needed to know if you did too." By the time Gohan had finished talking, his whole face was a bright pink color.  
  
Videl was blushing as well; hers wasn't as noticeable. Videl stood up straight and forced herself to look into his eyes. 'His eyes are wonderful' she thought, 'all of Gohan is wonderful.' She sighed. "I think - I think that I felt something, too, but I don't know for certain." She unfolded her arms, which had been across her chest, and put one hand to her forehead. "Things have just been so crazy lately with Earth being restored and everyone being alive again. I thought I felt something, but for all I know it could have just been the air conditioner. Don't get me wrong, Gohan. I'm not saying that I didn't feel anything. All I'm saying is that I don't know for certain."  
  
"That makes it a little harder," Gohan told her. "You see, I know that I felt something, but I can't do anything about it unless I know you felt something, because if I did, then it wouldn't be right. And if you don't feel something, then I don't want to look like a fool."  
  
Videl stared into his eyes, "What were you going to do? What did you come here to do, Gohan? Just tell me? You can't feel like a fool compared to my dream walking gibberish."  
  
Gohan thought it was getting too hot. His face looked like a cherry. "I wasn't going to do anything. I'm not going to do anything. Nothing is going to happen."  
  
"Gohan," Videl whispered softly. "What did you come here to do?" she asked. "Stop being afraid and just tell me. I won't get upset or angry."  
  
"I just came to ask you how you feel. And know that I've gotten my answer, I think it would be best for me to leave," he answered and turned around.  
  
Videl grabbed his hand before he could fly off. "Stop running, Gohan! Maybe I wasn't completely honest with you."  
  
Gohan turned around to face her. "Meaning?"  
  
Videl blushed slightly. "Meaning that what I said I felt and what I actually do aren't the same. I did feel something, Gohan. But it's crazy!" Videl threw her hands up in the air. "You can all the way here just to ask me something, and I went all the way to your house to talk to you. And you came all the way over here to make sure I was okay. I just," she brought her hands back down, "don't know what to do. It's touching that you came and told me how you feel, it really is, but I just don't know what to do!"  
  
"Then don't do anything," Gohan told her.  
  
Videl wanted to scream in frustration. "That's what my brain keeps telling me. But my heart is saying something different and my whole body feels like a tennis court and the tennis ball is the feelings bouncing back and forth. This is driving me crazy! Part of me wants you to leave right now and the other part is saying 'he shouldn't ever leave'. Part of me wants me to tell you my feelings and the other part is killing me because I won't shut my big mouth. And then there's the whole-"  
  
Gohan rested his finger on her lips. "Shhh," he whispered and took a step closer to her. "Part of me," Gohan told her softly, "is saying that I should just drop the bridge I've put up around my heart and kiss you, but the other part is saying that if I did, then we couldn't be friends. Part of me is saying that I don't want to be just your friend and the other part is agreeing."  
  
Videl froze. "Gohan," she muttered right before his lips brushed hers softly, leaving a light kiss on her lips. Videl didn't say anything as he pulled away, and she felt like crying. 'Tell him you care about him,' her mind screamed for once, but she couldn't form the words in her mouth. "Gohan, I..." her voice trailed off. 'Just kiss him, you idiot!' she yelled to herself. Videl slowly leaned up to meet his lips again. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck as Gohan's arms encircled her waist. She pulled his head down tighter against her lips and then slowly pulled away. "I felt something just then," she whispered to him.  
  
Gohan grinned. "I'm glad," he whispered back, "because so did I."  
  
Videl slowly pulled herself away from his grasp and let her arms rest by her sides. She smiled back at him, her heart beating a mile a minute. "Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer it if you're not ready."  
  
Videl giggled, "What kind of question do you ask if you don't expect an answer?"  
  
"The kind of question a person might not know the answer to right away. Anyways, just listen, please. Videl?" Gohan asked.  
  
Videl raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"  
  
"Would you be willing to be my girlfriend?" 


	4. It's Not Really That Complicated

At World's End  
  
Chapter 4: It's Not Really That Complicated  
  
Ha ha ha. Thank you to all my readers and a special thanks to my reviewers. You people are awesome! It might take me a while to post new chapters because I'm in the middle of creating my very own RPG for the PC. Now, on with the story...  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Gohan, I," Videl felt like she was choking on air. She didn't know what to say. Of course she enjoyed kissing him - he was a great kisser - it was just that it seemed a little out of character for Gohan to be kissing her and asking her out. 'Maybe being dead does that to you.' "I really don't know what to say. I wasn't really expecting this kind of question now."  
  
"Sleep on it," he said and flew off before Videl could say anything else. Videl knew how nice Gohan was and she appreciated it that he was different from all the perverted guys in the world. But when it came to dating, Videl didn't know what it meant. She had never had a boyfriend and since her mother's death, she had promised herself that she would never care for anyone ever again. Videl didn't like getting hurt and it scared her to think about that possibility. But on the other hand, it was Gohan. Videl knew how much courage it must have taken him to ask her and she would feel just awful if she turned him down because she didn't want to get hurt. 'Seems to me like this is a no win situation,' she thought. 'But on the other hand, being Gohan's girlfriend would be a definite plus side to life. I just don't want to get hurt by him. Guys have a way with hurting people that they don't realize they are hurting until it's too late for help. It's just not fair.'  
  
Videl sighed and leaned again the railing of her balcony as she over looked the garden. 'Maybe I shouldn't be so afraid of getting to know people. Gohan's been hurt before too, and he knows how I feel. It's not easy to stick Gohan in with all the other guys I've always stereotyped. He's different. Like how he wasn't perverted about the fact that I was in my pajamas. He didn't even notice because that's not the kind of thing he's looking for. He's so sweet and innocent. Since I know that he isn't going to hurt me, why am I so afraid?' Videl sighed and sat down on a lounge chair she had set up on her balcony. 'Things are getting far too confusing for me.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl was shaking. She thought that maybe she was cold, but it was summer and very hot out. She opened her eyes to see Melissa standing above her, shaking her shoulders to wake her. "Miss Videl, are you all right?" she asked.  
  
Videl was puzzled. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"  
  
Melissa straightened herself. "Because you are sleeping out on the balcony."  
  
Videl groaned. 'Well that explains the back problems I'm having.' "I was just, uh, looking at the stars last night and I fell asleep."  
  
Melissa smiled. "And by 'stars', you really mean that nice young gentleman that was, ah, 'talking' to you last night when I came to check if you needed an extra pillow." Videl blushed. "Yeah, by stars, I mean Gohan. Please don't tell anyone. If anyone finds out, they might tell my father and if my father finds out, then I'm totally dead. I don't want to die young, so please let's just leave that little incident between the two of us. Please, Melissa?"  
  
Melissa smiled and sat down on the folding chair. "You are the first boss I've ever had that bothered to remember my name. I am quite fond of your kindness, Miss Videl. I will not tell a soul. I think it's wonderful that you are starting to have a love life. No boy has ever come to the mansion and asked to talk to you before. And no one has dared to sneak up to your balcony just to um, talk to you."  
  
Videl smiled. "Gohan is a very nice guy."  
  
"I bet he is," Melissa smiled.  
  
Videl glanced at Melissa, but then stood up and stretched. "Well, I'd better get dressed. I'm supposed to meet with him to discuss a few problems with him concerning school."  
  
"I bet so." Melissa let herself out of the bedroom.  
  
Videl stared at the closed door. 'Now she's just starting to freak me out.' Videl quickly changed into another tank top, which like the one she wore to bed, didn't even come close to covering her stomach. She also threw on a pair of gray sweatpants. She put her hair back into one ponytail and tossed on her sneakers.  
  
She was about to head out the back door when Melissa came up to her. "There is someone here to see you, Miss Videl."  
  
Videl hurried into the hallway, where Gohan was standing. Videl took in a deep breath and just kept reminding herself to breathe. "Hi!" she said in a cheerful voice.  
  
"Hey. I know you're probably getting annoyed by me by now," Gohan stated.  
  
"Not at all," Videl smiled. "I was just going to head over your way."  
  
"Do you want to go for a walk? We can talk."  
  
Videl nodded. She slowly reached and grasped his hand in hers. "Follow me. I want to show you my favorite place in the world." Videl dragged Gohan through the house and out the kitchen door into the back yard. They passed the pool and entered the garden. "Here we are."  
  
"Yes, we are here," Gohan repeated.  
  
Videl let go of his hand. "Look, Gohan. I've thought about what you asked me yesterday. I thought about nothing else all night and I didn't even get a lot of sleep. I fell asleep on the balcony. And I thought I had an answer for you, but I'm still a little nervous. I mean, I've never had a boyfriend before. And..." she trailed off.  
  
"And what, Videl?" Gohan looked into her eyes.  
  
Videl felt like she was going to melt. She turned her gaze away from him. "I promised myself I would never have feelings for anyone since my mother's death. I just don't think I would be able to handle it if I got hurt again. I mean, with my mother dieing and my father losing it, I promised myself I wouldn't get hurt and end up like my father."  
  
"Videl," Gohan said and he rested his hand against her cheek, "I would never hurt you and I think you know that."  
  
Videl closed her eyes and leaned into his soft touch. "You would never hurt me on purpose," she corrected him. "And I would never hurt you on purpose either, but things happen, Gohan. People and events happen that change everything."  
  
"You worry too much, Videl. If anything wrong happens, I'm sure I can fix it. If I can blow up an evil monster bent on destroying the planet, I think I can handle whatever mother nature throws at me."  
  
Videl looked up to meet his gaze again. She rested her hands on his shoulders. "You make me feel safe, Gohan. That feeling of being safe from everything is scary because I've never felt this way about anything or anyone before. Just promise me one thing," she whispered, pulling herself closer to him.  
  
"Anything, Videl."  
  
Videl sighed, "Promise me that you'll always protect me - from bad guys, you, myself, and mother nature."  
  
"I promise you, Videl."  
  
Videl took in a long, shaky breath. "Gohan, I would be honored to be your girlfriend."  
  
Gohan smiled. "You see? That wasn't that hard now, was it?"  
  
Videl shook her head and laughed. "You live to tease me, Son Gohan."  
  
"Yes, I do, Videl Satan," he whispered softly into her ear. Videl went to rest her head on his shoulder, but halfway through the motion, Gohan caught her lips with his. Videl shut her eyes and let Gohan kiss her softly. She ended up being the one to pull away. Videl opened her eyes softly and smiled at him. "Well, that was very different, Son Gohan."  
  
He took her hand in his. "Yeah, well, I thought you might enjoy that."  
  
Videl blushed slightly. "Maybe..." she whispered.  
  
Videl started walking through the garden, Gohan's hand in hers. "So, Mr. Gohan, where did all of your new courage and boldness come from?"  
  
Gohan shrugged, "I guess is was from the fact that, while I was dead, I couldn't help but think about you. And since I am alive again, I should do something about that. This is the best idea I had. Does it get your approval?" he asked.  
  
Videl nodded.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Announcer Dude says, "Next time on Dragon Ball Z..."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Anti Darth Ani yells. "This isn't Dragon Ball Z! Get your act together! This is At World's End! I didn't pay you to come here and publicize another person's work! Are you insane? Here, let me have that back!" Anti Darth Ani grabs the computer, I mean the microphone, from the Announcer Dude and clears her throat.  
  
"Next time on At World's End, Videl motto - kidnapping doesn't help the situation at hand. Oh how true!"  
  
A preview for the next chapter: Videl's Little Visit  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl closed her eyes. She was too weak to search for Gohan's signature and teleport. She just wasn't able to. A tear ran down her cheek. 'Gohan, please come find me. I don't want to die.'  
  
++++++++++ 


	5. Videl's Little Visit

At World's End  
  
Chapter 5: Videl's Little Visit  
  
Well, the little paragraph at the end of the last chapter is only the tip of the page from this chapter. This chapter is going to be a VERY long one. I'm sorry if it took me a while to post it, but hey, a girl's got things to do. [Yeah, like beg not to be grounded and figure out how to avoid her parents from seeing her report while trying to finish doing a science report so she does haven't repeat the class next year :(] There is a bug flying around in here and I can't get it out. Dumb windows. I hate heat . . .  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Miss Videl?"  
  
Videl's eyes flew open and she sat up with a start. "Melissa. Hi. Can I help you with anything?"  
  
Melissa stared at Videl in an odd way, but then her facial expression changed back to the normal, solemn look. "I just came to remind you that you do, in fact, have school today and if you don't hurry and leave, you will be late."  
  
Videl glanced over at her clock and groaned. 'So much for today's technology. Alarm clocks don't even work anymore. And everyone keeps trying to tell me that the world is a better place. Don't make me laugh!'  
  
Videl quickly changed and ran downstairs. She was about to leave when her father stood in front of the door, blocking her way out. "I need to talk to you, Videl. The issue is very urgent and important. It related to you ramming your tongue down that weaklings mouth!"  
  
Videl stared at her father in amazement and shock. "Excuse you! You don't think that I'm actually going to talk to you when you start a conversation by saying that to me? And if you do think I am going to talk to you, you've got another thing coming, also known as my foot meets your face!"  
  
Hercule stared at Videl. "You are my daughter and you shouldn't dare to talk to your father like that! It's not your place to lecture me! Why, I'm the champ, who saved the world twice!"  
  
Videl glared at him. "You are such a fake! You didn't save the world from Cell and you only helped, in a small way, to save Earth from Buu! Gohan saved the world from Cell. Goku and Vegeta saved the world from Buu, so don't go giving me your almighty power trip speech. Now, here is the deal. You don't talk to me or bother me, and I'll keep your secret. However, if you even try to bother me with whatever your problems are, I'll go national with your fraud! I wonder what the citizens of Earth will think of you then."  
  
"You are my daughter and I order you not to threaten me with blackmail. I will not allow my teenage daughter to blackmail me. Not I, the World Tournament Champion!"  
  
"Shut up!" Videl yelled, on the verge of tears. "You're not a champion! You're a fraud! A fraud! Don't you understand what that means? You're a lying, cheating scum!" Videl stormed past her father and out the front door, kicking the ground vigorously to fly off toward the school. 'I promised myself I wouldn't cry. I've promised myself a lot of things that I wasn't able to keep, but I will keep this promise, whether I like it or not.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl showed up at school a few minutes before classes started. She ventured around until she spied Erasa. Videl hurried over to her friend, trying to forget about her father and the huge blowout argument. It wasn't that Videl like fighting with her father, it was just a nerve that went off every time he pretended to be so strong and powerful. Even Videl could beat the crap out of him. "Erasa! Boy, am I glad to see you! I'm having the worst morning in history!"  
  
Erasa had stars in her eyes. She leaned in closer to Videl. "Why didn't you tell me," she whispered excitedly, "that you and Gohan are an item?"  
  
Videl stared in shock at her best friend. She grabbed Erasa's arm. "Who told you that?" Videl hissed. 'Oh boy, I knew this was going to cause some issues at school, but it's been one freakin' day and by the end of first period, everyone is going to be talking about it. I'll kill whoever told Erasa. I'll just kill them! Erasa has the biggest mouth ever!'  
  
"You neighbor, Clinton, heard you father yell that you and Gohan were Frenching yesterday. Clinton put that together with the fact that you and Gohan were in the garden yesterday talking all hush-hush. Nobody knows for sure if you two are an item, but everyone knows that you two were Frenching yesterday! I was really upset that you didn't call me yesterday and tell me!"  
  
"We weren't Frenching! We were just kissing!" Videl groaned. 'Shut up your huge mouth!' she scolded at herself. 'That was the worst possible thing I could have said.'  
  
Erasa jumped up and down, clapping. "Omigod, Videl! You and Gohan are finally an item! This is great! I'm so excited! I've got to tell someone!"  
  
Videl's eyes almost shot out of their sockets. "Are you insane, Erasa? You can't tell anyone that Gohan and I are dating. If word gets out, I'm doomed! If you tell one single soul about Gohan and me, I swear on my grave that I will haunt you down and kill you, Blonde!"  
  
Erasa frowned. "All right Videl, jeez. You don't have to have a fit about it. I can keep a secret, honest. I mean, no one has ever trusted me with a secret before, but I can keep this secret and I will. But about the kissing thing," Erasa giggled nervously, "I kindda already told a few people."  
  
Videl glared at her dearest friend. "And by a few people, you mean how many exactly?"  
  
Erasa looked down at her feet and blushed. "Everyone I could." Erasa looked up at the frozen figure of Videl. "Oh, Videl! Please don't be mad at me! I was just really excited, that's all! I mean, you and Gohan together finally is really big news! But I swear, I won't tell anyone that the two of you are an item. Of course, Clinton was already telling people that you are, so if rumors start about that too, it wasn't me! I'm going to keep this secret! Of course, if everyone already knows, then it's not really a secret, it's just gossip between two people."  
  
"And it had better stay between those two people, Erasa. Or else!" Videl yelled. She hurried into the main hall of school. Her life had gone from perfect to a living hell. 'This is just not fair. And if my father wasn't famous, then nobody would even care that Gohan and I are boyfriend and girlfriend. Being famous makes all eyes turn to you, even when all you want to do is disappear away from the world.'  
  
"Hey," came a familiar voice from over her shoulder. Videl sighed and banged her head on her locker door. "Hi," she mumbled.  
  
Gohan turned her around to face him. "Is everything all right?"  
  
Videl leaned again her locker and sighed, shaking her head. "The whole stupid school knows."  
  
Gohan was puzzled. "What does everyone in school know?"  
  
Videl ran her hand through her hair, which she hadn't had time to put up. "The whole school knows about us," she said in a softer, lower voice. "I came to school and Erasa asked me why I didn't tell her. It seems my dearest neighbor, Clinton, saw us in the garden yesterday, and then he heard me talking to my father this morning."  
  
"What were you talking to your father about?" Gohan asked.  
  
Videl knew that starting then, she was going to have to start talking about things with Gohan that she hadn't before and she would have to trust him even more than she already did. But at that moment in her life, Videl didn't want Gohan to know about the problems she was having with her father. As a matter of fact, Videl didn't want anyone to know about the issues she had with her father. Just the thought of her classmates knowing about her private life at home was enough to make her crazy. And then came the whole new deal with Gohan. That was going to be a little harder to hide from everyone, seeing as how almost everyone already knew. 'I'm going to have to have a nice, little chat with Clinton at lunch about these little rumors.' Once Clinton told everyone about the incident with her father, she feared that reporters were going to be around every corner, trying to get the 411 in a live interview. If Videl thought her life was hell then, she couldn't imagine how it would become.  
  
"We just don't see eye to eye sometimes and he was just a little upset with me this morning. It wasn't anything to worry about." Videl didn't like lying to Gohan - she didn't like lying at all, but she preferred to lie, rather than have her whole life being shared on national TV.  
  
Gohan looked at her softly, as if he was going to say something, but then he must have changed his mind. "Well, I guess I'll see you after class."  
  
Videl slammed her locker door closed. "In case you've forgotten, we have the same homeroom class, Gohan. You'll see me before class, during class, and after class. You're stuck with me for a while."  
  
Gohan shrugged. "I guess you're right."  
  
Videl sighed and shook her head. 'Things are going to be very different. I can already feel it.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Right after her fourth class, Videl hurried out into the courtyard for lunch. She found Clinton easily, talking to some of his brainiac friends. Videl tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, smiling, until he saw her. As soon as his eyes caught hers, his smiled turned to a frown and he started to look a little uncomfortable. "Vi-Videl. How, um, nice to see you. It's such a lovely day out today, isn't it?"  
  
Videl grabbed his shirt. "We so need to talk, Clinton." With those words, Videl dragged him over behind the school building. Videl tried to stay calm, but it wasn't easy. She just wasn't the calm type of person. "Where do you think you get off telling everybody about my personal life?" she hissed at him, getting in his face. Clinton stood up straight, but he was still at least two inches shorter than Videl. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "No need to get angry, Videl. When you and Gohan are kissing in your family's big garden, one can't help but notice."  
  
"Clinton, you were spying on me! You wouldn't have known if you haven't been looking over the fence into the garden! Why do you think we put that stupid fence up? To keep people like you from looking into the garden!"  
  
"Well, actually I wasn't exactly planning on spying on you. You see, I was really using my telescope to study the constellations for the Science Club's annual fair, but I noticed out of the corner of my eye from my balcony you and Gohan going at it in the garden."  
  
Videl's face burned she was blushing so hard. "We weren't going at anything, Clinton! You'd better stop saying that were we Frenching, because we weren't! Just stay out of my personal life or you're asking for it!"  
  
Clinton actually smiled, making Videl want to slam her fist into his face and break his dorky looking glasses. "Asking for what? If you even try to harm me, I'll tell everyone about your father and how he didn't save the world. Then, he won't have any control over anything anymore and I won't have to worry about all the reporters in my yard, trying to videotape your father."  
  
Videl gasped. "You little RAT! You heard that?"  
  
Clinton nodded and then smiled again. "Hi, Gohan," he said.  
  
Videl spun around and about three feet away from her, Gohan was just standing there. Clinton tried to dash off as Videl tried desperately to find something to say, but Videl grabbed him by his shirt to keep him from running away. 'I'm not going to let the little, dorky, rat get the best of me. No sir, no way.' "You try messing with my family affairs, and I swear to God that I will bring pain to your whole skeletal frame!" Videl hissed and then let him go.  
  
Now all she had to worry about was Gohan. Somehow, she feared that explaining this to Gohan was going to be a little harder. She walked over to him slowly. "How much of that did you hear?" she asked him softly.  
  
"Enough," he said stiffly.  
  
"Enough for what?"  
  
"Enough to know that you lied to me."  
  
Videl was shocked. "I didn't lie to you! I would never lie to you. Well, okay that might be a lie, but I would only lie to you if it was really important and a true secret."  
  
"You shouldn't have any secrets from me, Videl. You should trust me enough."  
  
Videl crossed her arms across her arms. "Okay, that is not fair. That whole secrets' road is a two-way road, buddy. It's not like you don't have secrets from me. The point is, I didn't lie to you, Gohan."  
  
"You said that this whole deal was nothing to worry about. Your father's whole fraud case is on the line and you call that nothing to worry about? If people found out about that, Videl, you're whole life could be ruined."  
  
"Listen, Gohan, I don't need you to be lecturing me on what to worry about. I mean, I have a lot of other, more important, things on my mind right now than the whole deal with my father. Clinton may be a little scum, but he's lived next door to us since we moved in and I know him well enough to know that he's not going to tell anyone about my father's little secret. And, by the way, Gohan, you don't need to be worrying about my issues. I'm a big girl now. I don't need to whole city trying to take care of me and to protect me. I'm going to be fine all on my own, without your help or anyone else's."  
  
"Videl, I'm not saying that you need anyone's help. All I'm suggesting is that you might want a little assistance in this case because it seems like it's just a tad bit over your head. And I'm not trying to make you feel bad or get you angry, but this is a very serious issue. I would like to help you, but if you don't want my help, I will withdraw my offer."  
  
Videl felt like screaming at him. "Gohan, just . . . I don't know! Just go away for now. I can't handle all this at once!" Videl stormed off and Gohan watched her retreating back. 'What's going on with you, Videl? Was it something I said?'  
  
After all his classes for the day, Gohan wondered around the halls of the school, trying to find Videl. He spotted her by her locker. He hurried over to her. Videl had her face in her locker and her shoulders were shaking. Gohan walked up behind her and touched her shoulder softly. Videl turned around to face him, and Gohan noticed that she had been crying. 'What's going on here?' Gohan wiped a tear away with his forefinger. "Do you care you tell me why you're upset? Maybe something that someone said or did?"  
  
Videl smiled softly. "It's nothing very important. You don't even need to worry about it, Gohan. I'll be fine. It's just been a very rough day and I have a feeling that tomorrow is only going to get worse. But I'll be fine."  
  
"Videl," Gohan started, not knowing what to say, "why won't you tell me what's bothering you? I don't like seeing you upset like this."  
  
"Gohan," she said, closing her locker door and turning around back around to face him, "Some things are just a little too hard to explain. I wish you wouldn't worry about me. I'm going to be just fine. Look, I wish I could stand here and talk to you longer, but I'm afraid I have to get home."  
  
Gohan watched as Videl's slender frame disappeared into the mob of students leaving to go home. Gohan quickly flew home, where Trunks and Gohan were playing tag out front. As soon as they saw Gohan, Goten flew straight towards him and threw his skinny little arms around Gohan's arm. At the same time, Trunks flew up and slapped Goten on the shoulder. "You're it!" Trunks shouted triumphantly.  
  
"No! It doesn't count because Gohan's base and I'm touching Gohan's arm, so I'm on base. You are still it!" Goten said, stinking out his tongue.  
  
"Only one little problem, there," Trunks said. "There isn't a base today! You're it!"  
  
Goten let go of Gohan and powered up into a Super Saiyan. "That isn't fair, Trunks! I'm going to get you!"  
  
Trunks pulled down the bottom of his eyelid and stuck out his tongue at his best friend. "Come and get me, slow poke!" Trunks yelled and powered up to a Super Saiyan also.  
  
Gohan sighed and headed into the house, where Chi-Chi was running around the kitchen like a mad man. Gohan laughed out loud when he saw his father in one of his mother's aprons, trying to help get dinner fixed. Chi-Chi kept picking up the frying pan in a threatening way and Goku would laugh nervously and apologize for whatever he had done that time.  
  
As Gohan walked into the kitchen, his mother screamed as a thick cloud of flour covered the kitchen, leaving the three family members coughing. As soon as they could see, Chi-Chi glared at Goku. Goku smiled and threw his arm behind his head. "I guess I don't know my own strength. Sorry, Chi-Chi."  
  
Chi-Chi glared at her husband. "Well, there go the cookies for dinner. If you want any food tonight, you had better get your butt over to Capsule Corp. and borrow some flour from Bulma. I am not happy with you, Goku! I don't know what possessed me into letting you help around here!"  
  
Goku smiled and kissed her cheek. Then his placed his two fingers onto his forehead and winked, transporting himself to Capsule Corp. Gohan sighed, flour all over his school clothes and head. "Good afternoon, Mother."  
  
Chi-Chi turned to face her eldest son. "Well, the only sane male member of this household is home! It's good to see you. Now would you please help me with this dinner? All your father managed to do was dirty up the whole kitchen. Sometimes that man just drives me crazy! Of course, he makes up for it in other ways."  
  
Gohan nearly chocked on her tongue. "Mother! Please! Have you forgotten that I'm your son?"  
  
Chi-Chi smiled. "You and Goten are my little reminders."  
  
Gohan started coughing. 'I can't believe I'm having this conversation with my mother! She's my mother! I don't want to know what she and my father do! Doesn't she understand how disgusting that is?' Gohan's left eye started to twitch.  
  
"So, Gohan, how are things going with Videl? I heard that you might be dating her. I must say, I was very upset that you didn't tell me in person. I'm your mother for Dende's sake!" She threw down the spatula and put her hands on her waist. "I understand that these things might be a little embarrassing at first, but I would like to find out my son's affairs before the news stations have it on the five o'clock news!"  
  
Gohan almost dropped the eggs he was cracking and putting in the stirring bowl. "They said that on TV?"  
  
Chi-Chi sighed and kneaded the dough. "Of course. We're talking about Videl, darling. Every step that child takes is on live coverage. I feel so sorry for the poor dear."  
  
"Yeah, me too."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl woke up to a soft knocking on her balcony sliding glass door. There wasn't enough light to see, but she figured it was Gohan. "You realize that there is a front door to my house, don't you?" she asked as she slid the door open. Videl gasped, for the person at the door wasn't Gohan. "Yes, my dear Videl, I do realize that. But how am I supposed to kidnap you if your maid knows I'm here?" Videl's voice was caught in her throat. She tried to close the door, by the person stepped into the room and grabbed her arm. "Now, now, Miss Satan, don't try to escape because you know it's no use."  
  
Videl tried to get away from her capturer, but it wasn't any use. She struggled with him for a while, but after a while, he had pinned her to the floor. He gagged her and knocked her on the head before flying off toward the hideout where he had to wait for Gohan. 'Poor little girl. She never saw it coming. Not my problem. I mean, why does Cooler have me kidnap a little girl? Why can't I just kill her instead? The whole kidnapping thing just doesn't work for me. I wonder, if I just dumped her body into the river to drown, Cooler wouldn't be too mad, would he?' The capturer froze into mid air above a great lake. 'I'm mad at the bastard anyway. He stole my lady figure. He won't care if she's dead, as long as Gohan and Goku still comply.' The capturer smiled. He quickly tied Videl's arms behind her back and then bent her legs back and tied them to her arms. 'I don't think she'll be able to escape from that. And I thought this business was going to be bad. I have to admit, I'm enjoying myself.'  
  
Videl's eyes fluttered open and she tried not to panic when she realized that she couldn't move her arms or legs. Her capturer pulled the duck tape off her mouth. "I want you to be able to scream as you hit that freezing water. I want you to scream as loud as you can so Gohan can hear you right before you die. Ready? Scream!"  
  
And before Videl knew what was going on, the beast let go of her and she went falling. She managed to glance under her and she noticed that she was going to fall into a large lake. No matter how scared she was, she had enough pride not to give the monster the satisfaction of screaming. But as she got closer and closer to the large body of water, her nerves got shorter and shorter. About twenty yards above the water, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "GOHAN!!!!!" Videl closed her mouth just as she hit the surface of the water. She felt like screaming her lungs out she was in so much pain. Her body hit the water in a twisted form. She felt pain in her whole body, but it was mostly in her arms and legs, which hit the water first, breaking the way for the rest of her.  
  
The capturer laughed loudly enough for her to hear. "Hope you have a good swim!" he yelled. "It will be your last!" he laughed as he flew off.  
  
Videl wasn't having much luck. Pain shot through her entire body, and she was running out of air. She needed to surface. She knew she had to. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't. 'Come on! This really sucks! I have to live! I won't die for that creeps satisfaction. I refuse to die! Gohan, you'd better save me.' Videl managed a little movement with her arms and legs. As soon as her head touched the surface, she gasped for air and threw her chin up. She was going to float until Gohan showed up.  
  
Cooler's servant flew back to the hideout where the guard let him in. "I don't see the girl with you," the guard observed. "I don't know what you did, Gabster, but Cooler isn't going to be too happy."  
  
"Well, screw Cooler. Kidnapping didn't suit me, so I killed her. And I had a damn good time doing it, too. We'll see how Cooler takes it. We don't need live bait."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan shot up straight. He knew he had been dreaming about Videl. But this dream wasn't a nice one. He remembered the way she had screamed and the way her body had hit the surface of the water. He knew he was being silly, but he was still upset about it. He quickly picked up the phone and dialed Videl's number. It rang once, twice, three times, and then the answering machine picked up. Gohan slammed down the phone. Before he could think about it, he was out the front door and flying toward Videl's house.  
  
He reached her balcony and his heart fell when he noticed the sliding glass door was open. He went in. The bedroom door was locked and the bed wasn't made, but it was empty. "Videl?" he whispered softly, trying to ignore the feeling in his gut. He tried to stay calm and he recalled the dream. 'It can't be possible. Oh, Videl, where are you?'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl closed her eyes. She was too weak to search for Gohan's signature and teleport. She just wasn't able to. A tear ran down her cheek. 'Gohan, please come find me. I don't want to die.'  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan gasped as he felt himself being pulled away. The world seemed to swirl a little and then he was surrounded by water. He automatically started kicking for the surface. He gasped for air as he reached. Gohan shot up into the air. He pulled in his breath as he caught view of Videl floating on the surface of the water about 50 yards over. Gohan flew quickly over to her. "Gohan," she whispered, smiling. "I knew you'd find me."  
  
Gohan picked her up out of the water. He untied her arms and legs and threw the rope into the water, She wrapped her arms around his neck and her body went limp in his arms as he quickly flew her back to his house. Chi-Chi was sitting on the couch when Gohan arrived at his house. She gasped and ran over to him when she saw Videl's condition. "Omigod! The poor dear. Quickly, Gohan get her upstairs into a bed and wrap her in blankets. I'll go put some water on the stove to boil. Go!" she ordered him.  
  
Gohan carried Videl up the stairs and into his room that he shared with Goten. Goten was sound asleep in his bed, so Gohan was forced to put Videl in his bed. He covered her in his blankets.  
  
Videl forced her eyes open slowly. The first thing she saw was Gohan's face. She smiled softly. She tried to talk to him, but instead she started chocking on water she had swallowed. Videl coughed and coughed until she spit out the saltwater that was in her lungs. She managed to lean over to side of the bed and throw it up on the floor, instead of on the bed. She took a deep breath. "Hi," she said weakly.  
  
"Hi yourself," Gohan said, relieved.  
  
Tears clouded Videl's vision. "I think I broke my leg. It hurts really bad."  
  
Gohan helped her lay back again. He placed his hand on her forehead. "We'll have a doctor come look at it as soon as we can. Are you feeling okay? Do you have any other injuries?"  
  
Videl smiled. "I've had better days." She loved the feeling of having him so close to her. "Thank you for saving me. I knew if I survived long enough, you'd come and find me."  
  
Gohan nodded. His heart felt her pain. He ran his hand through her soft hair. He felt her fingers entwine with his. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. But Videl wasn't satisfied. 'I almost die and all he can do is kiss my forehead. Come on!' Videl muttered something under her breath.  
  
"What?" Gohan asked. Videl shook her head. "Gohan?" she asked. "Yeah, Videl?"  
  
Videl felt herself blushing. "Would you please kiss me?" Gohan was surprised by her forwardness and felt himself blushing as well. He slowly leaned down. Just as his lips were about to reach hers, a soft tap on the door was heard. Videl frowned. 'You are not getting away with that. I don't care if it is Majin Buu at the door, you still owe me a kiss.' Before Gohan could jerk up, Videl forced her head off the bed until her lips met his. Gohan was surprised, but he wasn't disappointed. Ignoring the fact that his brother was sleeping in the room and he mother was at the door, Gohan let himself be kissed. Videl rested her head back on the pillow and they kept kissing.  
  
"This is touching, really, but Videl needs to sleep, not to make out," Chi- Chi said.  
  
Gohan pulled away from Videl slowly and stood up to face his mother. She handed him a washcloth and a bucket of hot water. "I was going to have you do this for her, but I don't think I can trust the two of you in here with supervision. I have an eight-year-old son sleeping in the corner, thank you very much."  
  
Chi-Chi dipped the washcloth in the water and rung it out. Then she folded it twice and placed it on Videl's forehead. Chi-Chi noticed how pale Videl's skin was and how blue Videl's lips were. "I think you might have a little frost bite."  
  
Videl smiled. "Well, if that's all I have to worry about, I think I'll be just fine."  
  
Chi-Chi smiled and dipped the wash cloth into the water again and placed it back on Videl's forehead. "I'll be back in a moment with some hot chocolate to help cheer you up." Chi-Chi smiled and left.  
  
Gohan sat back down on the bed and slowly took Videl's hand in his. "I can't say that I know how bad you feel, but I do feel awful about what happened. I just wish that I could have found you faster. I didn't tell you this before, but before you pulled me into the lake, I had a nightmare and I could see everything that was happening to you. I called your house and you weren't there, so I went over. You had disappeared and I was really worried. That's when you pulled me into the lake."  
  
Videl smiled faintly. "Yeah, I'm sorry about getting you wet. I guess I was just too weak to help your surface. And I want to thank you again for saving me, Gohan. You saved my life."  
  
Gohan squeezed her hand softly and kissed her forehead. Videl placed a pale, clammy hand against his cheek. "Gohan . . . " she whispered and she closed her eyes and let her hand drop as she fell asleep.  
  
"Videl," Gohan whispered back. He stood up and tucked Videl in before he headed downstairs to tell his mother to lay off the hot chocolate. But Chi-Chi was pouring it into mugs when Gohan reached the kitchen door. "Mother, Videl fell asleep."  
  
Chi-Chi nodded and handed him a mug. "Here. Why don't you have one? I'll go wake your father up and fill him in on the recent events. Maybe he'll want the one I made for Videl . . . " She muttered something under her breath as she hurried up the stairs and disappeared into the shadows of the night.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl woke up with pain shooting through her entire body. She spit out the first words that came to mind, and they weren't exactly the nicest ones.  
  
"What does that mean?" asked a small voice. Videl screamed softly and jerked her head to the side to see Goten laying in his bed, facing her. "Gohan says that sometimes, but I still don't know what it means. Every time I ask him, he just says something weird and tells me to pretend that I never heard him say that."  
  
Videl smiled softly at the adorable little model of Gohan. "And he's right. Your brother is very smart."  
  
"Thank you," came another voice from the door. Videl turned around and greeted Gohan with a wide smile. "Hey!" she said cheerfully, momentarily forgetting about the pain coursing through her body. "I was hoping to see you this morning."  
  
Gohan smiled. "And I was hoping you were well enough for me to kick you out of my bed now," he teased. Then he caught Goten's glance. "Hey, buddy! I heard Mother calling you. She wants you to go help her make breakfast because she's still mad at Dad for yesterday's little incident."  
  
Goten nodded and jumped out of bed, running out of the room and slamming the door behind him. Gohan walked over and sat down on the bed while Videl pulled herself painfully into a sitting position. "I missed you," she whispered softly, "and I couldn't stop thinking about you last night."  
  
Gohan blushed slightly and took her hand in his. "Yeah . . . " He didn't know what to say. Videl squeezed his hand. "Gohan, I . . . " Videl paused and shook her head, "oh, never mind. So, what happened with your father yesterday?"  
  
Gohan smiled and turned so that he was sitting right next to Videl. He slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest, but kept her eyes on his face to listen to the story. Gohan shook his head. "Nothing happened, really. Dad just got back from the dead and he didn't have anything to do. Mother did not want him fighting, so he decided he wanted to help out around the house. Dad tried to help Mother with dinner, but he was a little too powerful for that and he ended up breaking the flour bag so that it got all over the kitchen, my mother, Dad, and me. She was really upset and made him go get more from Bulma."  
  
Videl smiled and closed her eyes. "I'll never let you or your father near my kitchen when . . . " she trailed off, just blushing at the thought.  
  
"When what?" Gohan questioned.  
  
Videl shook her head. "Nothing. I mean, it's not important." Gohan nodded. Videl looked up at him with her beautiful eyes and stared into his. "Videl . . . "  
  
"Gohan . . . "  
  
Gohan lowered his head and Videl craned her neck upward so that their lips touched. It felt wonderful to Videl to have Gohan with her like that. To know that nothing would be right, but things with Gohan felt perfect. When she slowly broke away from him, she rested her hands on his chest and curled her legs up under her, trying to relieve herself from pain. "Can't we just stay like this forever?" she asked Gohan.  
  
The bedroom door opened. "I'm afraid not," came Chi-Chi's voice, "the doctor's here to have a look over Videl."  
  
Gohan tried to scramble out of the bed, but Videl held onto him. If there was one thing she hated more than her father, it was doctors. She clutched Gohan's undershirt until her knuckles turned white. Gohan kissed her forehead and pulled away from her softly.  
  
'Why you little terd!' Videl thought. 'Gohan, you'd better not leave me in here with a doctor!' But Gohan had already left the room and a short, plump man took his place. The little man introduced himself as Dr. Brown and started examining Videl. 'Oh, you owe me big time, Gohan. I'd better get a lot out of you if you expect me to cooperate with this, this doctor!'  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Well, it seems as if Miss Satan has broken her left leg. She seems to be healing fast, so a cast will not be necessary. Just make sure she stays off of it and gets plenty of sleep and rest. Have a nice day," the doctor said as he left.  
  
Videl sank back into Gohan's soft, feather pillows. "Have a nice day," she mimicked in a sarcastic voice. "Why don't you try having a nice day with a broken leg? That guy just makes me so angry!"  
  
Gohan smiled softly at her as he took his place, sitting on the bed. "Gohan, I don't want to rest," she told him, "I want to get better and back to normal so I can get on with my training! All this relaxing is going to weaken me and I don't want to end up with all fat and no muscle!"  
  
"Videl," he muttered, kissing her forehead, "stop worrying. My father went to fetch something that will get you into tip top shape. So just relax until he gets back."  
  
Gohan went to stand up, but Videl grabbed his arm. "Please don't leave me here by myself," she begged. "I'm bored out of my mind as it is. I need you to keep me company. Please?"  
  
Gohan stared at the beauty laying there in his bed. 'Videl is sleeping in my bed. My bed! My bed; my bed; my bed. And she wants me to stay with her!'  
  
Videl smiled softly at him and Gohan sighed. Videl inched over and Gohan sat down on the bed next to her. "You see? That wasn't so hard after all, now was it?" she asked him, cuddling up to him and resting her head on his chest. 


	6. Mama Mia

At World's End  
  
Chapter 6: Mama Mia  
  
I'm back!!!! And I've finally got chapter six up! I might go back and edit the others because I was rereading chapter five and I found a few errors. If you guys like rock music, you should listen to Yellowcard. I just got their new CD and I love it! Also check out Something Corporate. They're good too! But enough of all that unrelated stuff. Back to the goods! Check out my mailing list and little fan club site, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/antidarthani. I've already gotten a few members, but I need all of you to sign up! It only takes a second and you get up to the second updates for every new chapter and fan-fic, plus sneak previews and more! It's totally free and spam free! And I'm sorry this fan-fic has taken such a long time to update. This is the first story that is being 'unfrozen' and updated.  
  
Just one more thing. If you don't have the Jason Mraz CD, you need to go out and but it right now! I just got it and I love it. You and I Both is a great song, and so is Curbside Prophet. And what about that line about a humble pie in Sleep All Day? I simply love it! I could eat him right up. I just love his voice and almost everyone has heard I Won't Worry My Life Away on the radio. They play that song to its death, and yet I still like it! I highly suggest it! Anyways, that has absolutely nothing to do with this fan-fic, so I'll shut up now and let you read on! Please review and I love all of you who have already reviewed, if you can even remember who you are because it's been such a long time. Another long chapter coming your way now!  
  
**********  
  
Goku appeared out of thin air, landing at the foot of Gohan bed. Gohan had fallen asleep by then, carefully holding Videl against his chest, who was just laying there, not asleep and not even trying to be. Goku smiled at her and handed her a small brown pouch.  
  
"What's in it?" Videl asked softly, shifting just a little, trying not to wake the sleeping Gohan. She untied the string and found two little green beans. "You only have to eat one. They're called Senzu beans and they'll fix that little leg of yours in mere seconds. You can save the second for that tournament you're training for. You never know when you're going to need them," Goku explained before leaving the room and closing the door softly.  
  
Videl shrugged to herself and ate one of the beans, chewing it up partially and then swallowing it. She wrapped the other one back up in the pouch and placed it on Gohan's nightstand. Then she turned back and curled up against Gohan, wrapping one arm around his waist and resting her head under his chin. Nothing had ever been better for Videl. Even though she had just been kidnapped and broken her leg, and her nosey neighbor was threatening to reveal her father's secret, she was curled up against Gohan. Nothing would ever be better than that, Videl truly believed.  
  
"Gohan?" she whispered softly, testing to see if he was really sleeping. "Yeah?" he muttered, sounding extremely tired. Videl looked up to his face, "Do you want to go do something?" she asked him slowly. "Now that my leg is better, I don't really feel like just laying here. I'm bored out of my mind."  
  
"You can go train, but I'm going to stay right here. I had to sleep on the couch last night and it isn't exactly comfortable. Parts of me feel as if they will never be operational again," Gohan groaned. Videl blushed, only imaging what parts of his body he had been talking about. "Oh, ok. Well, maybe I'll just go home. I'll see you at school."  
  
Gohan agreed and kissed the top of her head. Videl slipped out of the bed and Gohan fell into a deep sleep. Videl smiled and giggled, listening to Gohan snore softly. She quickly found her shoes on the floor and put them back on. She retied her hair into two ponytails and walked out into the hall and then down the stairs.  
  
Videl smiled as Goten flew through the room and smashed into something in the kitchen, creating a loud crashing noise that would be heard by Gohan upstairs. Videl quickly slipped out the front door without being noticed. She didn't want to talk to Gohan's family. They were sweet, if not a tad crazy, but Videl wasn't feeling too people loving at the moment and she didn't want to come off rude. She decided she would visit them again later, when she was in a better mood.  
  
Videl took flight and quickly flew home. She surely didn't want to face her father at the time being, trying to explain to him were she had been, but it would be nice to lay in her own bed. The fact was, the further she flew and the closer she got to her house, the more Videl wanted to just crawl into her bed and wait for Monday to pull her onto her ass and to school. Videl landing on her balcony, where the sliding glass door was still open. Videl slipped inside. Then she figured that her father most likely didn't even know she had spent the night elsewhere. She had always kept her bedroom door locked and her father would have been off with another one of his little girlfriends. He might not have been home himself. And many times when he returned, he returned to Videl locked in her room, not speaking to him. She never even said a word to him until she had to.  
  
Videl slid the door closed and locked it. She checked it once again, just to be safe. Videl scanned her room. There were no signs of a struggle. She could have been killed and no one would have even known it was a kidnapping. Videl shivered and looked at her bed, the messy sheets just the way she had left them. She choked down sobs at she changed into her nightgown. Videl hated to admit that she was ever afraid, but just being back in her room was scary enough for her. She was having second thoughts about leaving Gohan's house. She would have been happy with Gohan, instead of back in her room, all alone, open for anyone to attack her. Videl was truly afraid for possibly the first time in her entire life.  
  
And not just afraid. Videl felt hopeless. And the fact was just that. Videl was hopeless against her attackers. Sure, she was strong, but she was only human. She didn't stand a chance against whoever had kidnapped her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stand up to Gohan either. Crawling under the sheets and comforter, Videl pulled her knees up against her chest in a protective ball. She wouldn't move until someone broke down her door and forced her to. She would stay in her bed until she starved to death, until someone made her move. Even in her own bed, Videl didn't feel safe. She wouldn't ever feel safe in her room again. Tears ran down her cheek as Videl cried herself to sleep.  
  
++++++++++  
  
A four year old Videl ran down the stairs of her cozy little home. The Christmas lights were shining brightly from the tree and the angel sitting atop the tree resembled the angel of the family, our very own Videl. She ran as fast as her short little legs would carry her, but that wasn't fast enough and Videl soon fell to her face when she tripped over her long, silk nightgown. Videl muffled her little cried as she pulled herself back up and finished her walk to the Christmas tree. It was during the rising hours of the morning and no one else in the Satan household was awake. It was Videl's tradition to wake up as early as she could to sneak down into the family room and preview what her parents, and Santa, had given to her.  
  
Videl squealed with delight as she looked at all the wrapped boxes under the tree. They was an assortment of sizes, many presents were taller than the little girl. Videl hugged the closest one and then picked up a smaller one off of the ground and shook it. She still couldn't tell what it was. She desperately wanted to open it, but Videl knew better than that, for she knew what her father would do to her if he woke up and found one scrap of wrapping paper already off of her presents.  
  
Videl sat down under the tree and thought about her father. She was only four, but she wasn't stupid. She was actually quite intelligent for her age. And she knew that her father was up to no good. He was never nice. One night, while her mother had been tucking in her bed after her daily nighttime story, Videl asked her mother why her father was so mean. Her mother had just forced a smile onto her face and explained that Videl's father drank too much sometimes and that made him angry a lot.  
  
"But I drink a lot too, and my apple juice doesn't make me mad. You tell me that it makes me hyper. Does the apple juice Daddy drinks make him hyper, too?" she asked softly, getting under her covers. Her mother had wanted to cry, but she held it back, "Yeah, Daddy has a special apple juice that makes him a different kind of hyper." She didn't say a word to Videl about the subject after that, but once she had turned off the bedroom light and closed the door, Videl stayed awake. She heard the noises of her parents arguing and then her mother screaming in pain. But Videl was only three, and didn't know what was happening, so she had stayed in her bed and cried herself to sleep.  
  
Videl looked down at the presents and slowly pushed herself away from them, pulling herself up onto the couch. She hated the way her father yelled at her and her mommy. She loved Mommy. Mommy was always there to make her smile and laugh and Mommy never drank Daddy's apple juice. Videl was too young to understand that her father was a drunk and that her mother had to support her family. But what Videl also didn't know was that her mother was finally going to do something about it. She was planning on getting a restraining order on Hercule and take Videl away from her father, to keep the two of them safe. Her mother figured that Videl was too young to understand what a restraining order was and she knew that Videl would be upset not to see her mother.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl screamed and sat up straight in her bed. She pressed her hands flat against her ears and tried to forget her horrible memories. "No, no, no!" she screamed to herself. The truth was that Videl had pushed it out of her memory. She never wanted to remember. All she ever wanted to do was get away from her past and escape. To forget her mother and her father and everything that had happened. "Stop!" Videl screamed, pleading with her dreams. She wouldn't be able to handle it. She never had been able. "Please just stop," she whispered. Her head flew back down onto her pillow and she squeezed her eyes closed. 'Just let me forget,' she pleaded. 'I need help.'  
  
Videl whimpered and pulled her covers back on. She closed her eyes again and tried to think of something else, anything else.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan's eyes snapped open. He took a quick scan of his room. Nothing was out of place and everything was quite. Then what had pulled him away from his peaceful dreams? Gohan couldn't figure it out, but something dark existed in his room and he could feel it, he just couldn't tell what it was exactly, and that bothered him. Gohan hated not having all the answers.  
  
Gohan gasped softly as a sharp pain hit his chest and a moment later he felt himself pulled away from the world. But he knew he wasn't dieing and that he wasn't dreaming. Gohan closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was standing in Videl's room. 'Oh crap,' he thought. Not the way to impress a girl who had been kidnapped. Just show up in her room while she's sleeping. Gohan glanced over to Videl's bed, where she was laying. But Videl wasn't peaceful, she was jerking about all over her bed.  
  
Gohan raced over to the bed, but he soon realized that Videl was still asleep. As carefully as he could, Gohan stepped over to the bed and pushed Videl's shoulders against the bed until she stopped shaking violently. Once Videl became motionless, Gohan shook her softly. Videl's eyes snapped open and her sprung forward, grabbing his arms and spinning him around painfully, slamming him down against her bed. "Gohan, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked breathlessly once she realized who she was holding prisoner.  
  
Gohan tried to smile, but his arms were uncomfortly pinned behind him and his whole body weight was pressing down on them painfully. "Videl," he started. She gasped and pulled him back up until he was sitting upright on her bed. Videl was sitting between her legs next to him, "So answer me, Golden Boy. What are you doing here?" she asked again.  
  
Gohan shrugged, rubbing his wrists. "I don't really know the answer to that question. I woke up in my own bed and then I felt myself being pulled away and I ended up here. You didn't do that weird thing where you call me, did you?" he asked softly.  
  
Videl blushed brightly, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ears, "I don't think I did, but I could have. I have a very strong unconscious state."  
  
"Yeah, I noticed," Gohan pointed out. "What were you dreaming about, exactly? You were thrashing all about and I was worried that you were going to hurt yourself."  
  
Videl choked up. Gohan wanted to know what she was dreaming about. But Videl couldn't possibly tell him. She had only gotten back to sleep an hour ago, and she had just had the same dream that had awoken her before, "Oh, nothing that important," Videl lied, but tears were forming in her eyes. 'Don't you dare starting crying in front of Gohan,' she warned herself. But no mattered how hard Videl pushed herself to contain the tears, they fell anyway. Gohan put a protective arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. It was only then that he realized that Videl was covered in sweat. He decided not to mention it, just to confront her in her time of need.  
  
"I just miss her so much," Videl cried softly, latching onto Gohan and wrapping her arms around his neck. Gohan nodded and moved his arms to wrap around Videl's lap, pulling her into his lap. "Do you mean your mother?" he asked softly.  
  
Videl didn't say a word, only nodded. Gohan didn't know what to say or ask after this, so he just rested his chin on Videl's head and let her cry onto his chest. He didn't want to think of the way it would look if her father walked into the room. Gohan in just a pair of boxers and Videl is a partially see through, short, and very revealing nightgown. God, Gohan started blushing madly as he looked down at the girl in his arms. Videl was as good as naked in what she was wearing. And that wasn't placing nice thoughts in Gohan's mind. He was already quite aroused, even if he wouldn't admit it. If he didn't put some space between himself and Videl, he didn't know if he would be able to control his behavior. "Videl?" he asked softly, needing something to pull his thoughts away from where they were leading him.  
  
Videl just looked up at Gohan's face. She had long since stopped crying, and had just been enjoying Gohan's company. She shifted her weight carefully, squatting between Gohan's legs. She placed a finger over his mouth and shook her head softly. Before Gohan knew what was going on, Videl had pressed her lips against his roughly and shoved him back against her bed. Gohan took a moment to react, but once he regained his senses, he kissed her back passionately. He was fortunate his head had fallen against the pillows, or else it might have left some damage. Videl pushed her legs back until her whole body was pressed up against Gohan's. Her feet brushed up against Gohan's, which were, in fact, very ticklish. Gohan giggled softly and Videl pulled away from him quickly. "Tell me, please, that you did not just giggle while we were making out," she begged. Gohan blushed, "Can a guy help it if he's ticklish?" Gohan asked sweetly. Videl raised one eyebrow and traced one hand down the side of Gohan's chest, leaving the other arm wrapped around his neck securely. "Did I just hear Gohan Son say that he was ticklish?" she smirked, "Because I swear I did."  
  
Gohan's eyes widened, "You wouldn't!" he protested. Videl truly smiled after this comment. "I wouldn't?" she asked sweetly, running a foot up and down Gohan's leg, brushing it softly with her toes. As she tortured Gohan slowly, Videl also started running her fingers softly along Gohan's stomach. Gohan started to laugh hysterically.  
  
Gohan finally managed to get a grip of himself. He grabbed Videl's hands and wrapped his legs around hers, using his body weight to flip them over, so that Gohan was on top of Videl, and pinned her wrists against the bed. Videl gasped softly, before putting a sexy pout on her lips, "Now this isn't fair," she protested.  
  
"I don't play fair," Gohan explained to her. He could feel every curve of her body under him and it was driving him crazy. She was intoxicating. Videl tried to pull her arms away from Gohan and flip them back over, but all she managed to do was pull her legs away from his. Still, Videl wasn't all at disappointed. "Like hell you don't play fair," she agreed as she finally stopped trying to break free. She had to admit, Gohan was stronger than she would ever be.  
  
No one said a word for a while and silence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Gohan stared down into Videl's eyes and Videl stared back up into his, breathing quickly. The truth was, Videl was feeling things she had never felt before and she didn't quite understand them. "Gohan," she whispered softly, "You're starting to hurt my wrists," she told him truthfully. Gohan released her wrists and placed his hands next to hers on the bed. Videl had half expected him to get up off the bed, but he didn't move an inch.  
  
"Gohan," she started again.  
  
"Yeah?" he answered softly.  
  
"Just kiss me already," she answered quickly. Gohan nodded and lowered his head down to hers. He used his arms to support his weight above Videl, keeping his body off of hers. Videl moaned softly and let Gohan kiss her hungrily. When he pulled away to breathe, Videl shook her head, "Please don't stop," she whispered and pushed herself up onto her elbows and found her mouth up against Gohan's. 'Don't ever stop,' she added silently.  
  
After another minute, Gohan pulled away again. By that point, he was breathing just as hard as Videl was. "I need to get back home," he told her softly. Videl felt her heart sink. Being with Gohan was always so wonderful. She didn't think she would last the night without him, leaving her trapped with her nightmares. "Stay here," she whispered to him softly. "Just stay with me tonight," she begged.  
  
Gohan wanted to die on the spot. She was asking him to stay to night with her, but for some reason, Gohan just didn't think he would be able to handle that, "Videl, I don't think that-" Videl pressed her mouth against his quickly before he could say another word. "That's your problem," she told him once she had pulled away. "You are always thinking. Just don't think about it Gohan, and just do what you feel." She ran one hand through his hair and pulled his head back down dangerously close to hers, "You can't just leave now," Videl told him. Gohan pulled her hand out of his hair and wrapped his fingers around hers before pushing it back down against the mattress. He did the same with his other hand until both Videl's hands were pinned up close to the headrest. "God, Videl," he muttered. Videl smiled softly as Gohan lowered his head back down again.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Mmmm," Videl murmured, opening her eyes slowly. Her eyes felt so heavy and just keeping them open was a major effort for her. Gohan shifted slightly, but he didn't wake up. Videl smiled to herself. She hadn't had one single nightmare. Videl didn't ever want to move from where she currently was positioned, which was right on top of Gohan, with his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. Videl kissed his neck softly and nestled her head against his head. She closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath. Light shone into her room through the curtains covering the sliding glass door. Videl ran her toes against Gohan's foot. He made a grunting noise and started to turn over, forgetting about the naked female in his arms. Videl gave a quick screech and Gohan opened his eyes, "Sorry," he muttered, "Not used to waking up with someone in my arms."  
  
"I should hope not," she answered, smiling and giggling as he nibbled at her neck playfully. "Gohan," she giggled softly. But he never answered her. Instead, he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her softly. Videl moaned slowly, letting every muscle in her body loosen as she went limp in Gohan's arms. "God, Gohan," she murmured, "you really know how to treat a girl," she told him.  
  
Gohan nodded and ran his hands up and down her body, exploring it all over again. "How did you end up on top?" he asked after a minute. Videl blushed slightly and shrugged. "I don't know. I just woke up like this." Gohan nodded and flipped them back over, to where he thought he belonged. Videl didn't protest or say a word, she just put her hands on the back of his back, near his shoulders, letting him kiss her. She had forgotten about putting up a fight. With Gohan, there was nothing to fight about. If he wanted to be on top, fine with her. As long as he held her close.  
  
Gohan pulled away and looked over at the clock on the nightstand, "Oh shit!" he swore, rolling over in the bed and leaving Videl where she was. Unfortunately, he didn't realize how close to the right side of the bed they had been and when he had rolled over, there was no room to roll. So Gohan fell straight to the ground. Videl peered over the side of the bed, laughed at an agitated Gohan, wrapped in bed blankets, sprawled all over her bedroom floor. She held the sheets up against her chest so that Gohan wouldn't see a thing. "Are you alright?" she asked softly. Gohan just glared at her, "This is not funny, Videl. It's getting late and I need to get home," he told he, snatching his boxers of the floor and putting them on in record speed as Videl looked at the clock. "Gohan, it's not even four in the morning."  
  
Gohan stared back at Videl, "Yes, I know that. But I have to get home and pray that no one is up yet and I can slip back until my bed before Goten wakes up and tells my mother that I'm not there. She'll have a heart attack!" Gohan told Videl in a rush.  
  
"Gohan, will you hold on for just a second?" Videl asked, quickly grabbing his arm. "I have to tell you something."  
  
Gohan put one arm down on both sides of Videl, who was sitting on the edge of her bed, still wrapped in bed sheets. He rested his forehead against hers, "Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"Last night was the best night of my life, and I just wanted to make sure you didn't think it was a mistake," she confessed softly, not looking into Gohan's eyes. Gohan lifted her head up with one arm, "Why would you think that, Videl?" he asked.  
  
Videl shrugged, "It just seems that you are in a real hurry to get away from me now that it's all over." Gohan shook his head and kissed her again quickly. "I've get to go home. We've got school in a few hours and I want to go home and get some actual sleep before I have to go and learn."  
  
Videl nodded and hugged him tightly, "I can send you home, if you need me to. I noticed that you don't exactly have on any flying garments," Videl smirked. Gohan smiled, "Yes, that would be nice, if you don't mind."  
  
Videl nodded and closed her eyes and concentrated hard, imagining the Son's home. Then she imagined Gohan in his room and when Videl opened her eyes, Gohan was gone. Videl sighed and found her nightgown on the floor, which she slipped back on and fell back to sleep.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Videl, are you listening? Have you heard a single word I said?" asked Erasa. Videl jerked up straight and took her head off of her desk. The professor shot her a nasty look, but continued talking in his dull monotone voice about some event that had happened thousands of years ago. Videl turned to face Erasa, who looked concerned, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked.  
  
Erasa shook her head, "Never mind what I was walking about. Are you ok?" she asked worriedly. Videl nodded, "Of course I am, I'm just a little tired. I had a bad dream last night and I had a hard time going back to sleep. Truth is, I only got a few hours of sleep last night. I'm just a little tired."  
  
Erasa rolled her eyes, "Well you look exhausted. Maybe you should ask to go to the nurse's office. You need to get some rest."  
  
"I'm fine, Erasa, ok? Can we just leave it at that?" Videl hissed. Sharpner leaned forward from his desk behind Erasa and Videl, "A little grouchy today, aren't we Videl?" he sneered. "You just need a little love, darling. Just call me if you want a real guy," Sharpner whispered into Videl's ear. Videl's cheeks turned bright red and she slapped Sharpner across the face as the bell rang.  
  
Sharpner touched at his jaw as Videl shoved her books into her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. Without waiting for Erasa, Videl headed straight out the door, not planning to talk to anyone. She stopped at her locker and twirled the combo, which was giving her some troubles because her hands were shaking. Videl cursed at her locker and slammed her hand against the stupid thing.  
  
An arm wrapped around her waist and her capture kissed her neck. "Hey," he whispered softly. "Gohan," Videl sighed and leaned back against him. "Can you get this dumb thing open for me please?" she pleaded. Gohan nodded, "Sure, just give me your combo." Videl told him, and Gohan's fingers twirled and the lock popped right open. Videl turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank you," she told him. Videl threw her history books into her locker and pulled out her science book and folder. Videl closed the door with a bang and turned to Gohan, yawning. Gohan kissed her forehead, "You need to get some sleep tonight," he told her. Videl just nodded and closed her eyes. She would have fallen straight back if Gohan hadn't grabbed her arm, "Maybe you should go see the nurse and make sure everything is alright," he told her.  
  
Videl pulled her arm away from Gohan, "What is it with you people and an obsession with me going to the nurse? I'm just a little tired, that's all. I'll go home straight after school and go right to bed. Everyone needs to stop worrying about me!" she snapped, frustrated. Videl hurried off down the hall and disappeared into the crowd. Gohan stayed rooted where he was, "Someone has to worry about you," Gohan muttered to himself and headed off in the other direction.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl walked into the house, slamming the large front door close and throwing her backpack to the ground. Sure, she had a lot of homework to do, but she didn't plan on doing it until later that day when Gohan was going to visit her for a study date. Videl kicked off her boots and snorted, "As if we're really going to study. The last thing I want to do when I'm with Gohan is study," she muttered, hanging her coat on the rack.  
  
"Well then what's the first thing you want to do with him?" an extremely husky voice asked from behind her. Videl rolled her eyes, "Have you been taking steroids again?" Videl asked as she turned around to face her father and a skinny little woman attached to him. Videl wanted to smash her elbow into her father's groin and the woman's face. Hit them where it hurts. She tried to make her father angry instead. Videl shrugged, "Wouldn't you like to know. Whatever arrives, I'll accept. Whatever he's willing to do. But I'm sure not as hell doing homework. I've got better things to do with my time," she told him while she walked past him and started up the grand staircase. Once she reached the top, Videl turned around and leaned against the banister, "You wanna know something, you good for nothing father of mine? I love Gohan and I'll do whatever the hell I please to do with him. And there ain't one damn thing you can do about that." And with that, Videl walked briskly down the hall to her room.  
  
Videl locked the door as soon as she had entered the room. She jumped onto her bed and screamed into a pillow. She screamed and screamed and screamed until her lungs and throat felt as if they were going to explode. Once Videl couldn't scream anymore, she took up crying. "I hate you," she whispered. Then she yelled it as loud as she could, which wasn't very loud and she doubted he would be able to hear her anyway.  
  
Videl took out her hair bands and sling-shot them across the room. They hit the sliding glass door and bounced back about an inch, to lay hopelessly on the ground. Videl crawled under the covers and buried her face in a pillow. Within seconds, the soft sound of snoring filled the room.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"You can't just do this to me!" Hercule yelled. "After all we've been through, you're just going to give up on us now? What kind of wife are you? What kind of mother are you?" he screamed in his wife's face. Videl, now five, stat on the third stair from the bottom, hiding in the shadows of the night. Her father and mother were arguing in the family room. Videl had left her room and climbing down the stairs to get her late night glass of water, but once she reached the landing, she had heard angry shouts, so she had decided to stay out of the way.  
  
"Hercule, just calm down for a minute. You've had too much to drink, again. Just sit down there on the couch and let me explain it to you. Please," Videl's mother begged. But Hercule wouldn't hear of it. He slapped his wife across the face to shut her up. "I don't want to sit down! And since when do you give me permission to sit in my own house? News to you, dear, you don't. I am the head of this house, and I make the rules. And now, I'm telling you to drop the damn restraining order on me! You can take yourself away from this family, but you can't take away my daughter and my son from me!" he yelled.  
  
Videl's mother tried to sit down to relieve herself of some stress, but Hercule yanked her to her feet. "Hercule," she began, "I lost the baby," she whispered, so Videl could barely hear.  
  
"You did what?" Hercule yelled, slapping her across the face once again. "Answer me when I'm talking to you, Woman!" he screamed in her ear. "I lost the baby," she told him. "The doctor told me it was because of stress, but I'm not so sure. I think it was a miscarriage."  
  
Hercule swiftly yanked her to him and pulled her into a kiss. But it wasn't passionate, it was rough and hard and full of hatred. Hercule then processed in trying to rip of her clothes. "Lay down on the couch right now and we are going to fuck you dry until you produce me a son." Videl's mother let out a small cry of pain and Hercule pushed her down on the couch. "I have a restraining order," she yelled at him. "You need to get away from me and you need to right now."  
  
"You know that I don't care about a restraining order. You won't leave me and you know it. You need me, my wife. Even if you are a slave, a slave needs pleasure and no other man on this planet will ever give you that. You need me."  
  
Videl listened, clutching the railing of the stairs as hard as she could. She couldn't believe what her father was doing. She knew she should go back to her room, and she really wanted to, but she couldn't move. Videl was in shock, like any normal five year old would be.  
  
Videl mother pushed Hercule away so hard that he went flying into the glass coffee table, smashing it to smithereens. Videl held back a cry. Why would she mother ever push her father? Her mother loved her father. The rest of the scene would play in Videl's memories for the next several years, coming back every night as a horrible nightmare she would never forget.  
  
Hercule stood up, staggering a bit from being drunk and from having a shard of glass in his arm. He pulled it out and then picked up a glass vase, reaching Videl's mother and grabbing her from behind, "I want you to scream now. Scream while you can. Because it will be the last time you ever say everything!" he muttered in her ear. Videl didn't hear this, only the breaking of glass as her father smashed it against her mother's head. Videl watched, terrified, as her mother fell to her knees and then all the way to the ground and her father standing there with what was left of a base of the vase in his hand. The last thing Videl saw before she slipped up the stairs and into her bed was her mother's blood in a pool by her mother's head. And the last thing she remembered hearing was the horrible sound of her father laughing until he dropped to the floor, knocked out cold from excess alcohol.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Videl?" Gohan whispered, walking into her room, turning on the light and closing the door. Gohan slipped off his backpack and sat in on the floor by Videl's desk. He glanced at Videl's bed, where Videl was curled up in a ball. Her eyes were closed and Gohan guessed, like anyone would, that Videl was sleeping. Gohan brushed a few bangs off of Videl's forehead. Videl shot up in the bed and screamed, holding the sheets close to her. Gohan took a step back and looked at her. Videl had tears flowing down her face and her whole body had turned a ghastly pale white color.  
  
Gohan slipped into the bed next to her and pulled her into his lap. Videl started shaking violently and sobbing frantically. Videl held on to Gohan's shirt was a deep grip, almost choking Gohan. Gohan brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead, "Don't worry, Videl. It's ok. I'll make things right if you just tell me what's wrong. I promise," he told her rocking her back and forth slowly. Videl hiccupped, "She shouldn't have died," Videl cried, "not that way. She should have died of old age and lived to be happy with her restraining order," Videl murmured, coughing violently against Gohan's chest. Gohan pulled her face away and wiped her tears away, "What are you talking about, Videl? Who are you talking about?"  
  
"My mother," Videl whispered. "She was killed. But she didn't die quickly like she should have. She died slowly and painfully and all I could do was stand there and watch. He just killed her. She loved and he killed her. And because she wanted me to be safe. And I couldn't even help her." Videl's whole body moved with each confession.  
  
"Who killed her?" Gohan asked.  
  
Videl looked up at him. "My father," she answered.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Your father?" Gohan answered, uncertain. Videl nodded. "He killed her and I saw it. But when the police asked me if I knew what happened, I told them I didn't because I didn't want him to hit me with a vase like Mommy," Videl sniffed and hiccupped. Videl pulled Gohan close to her and hugged him tightly. "I should tell the police. Tomorrow, on the way to school. I'll tell them the truth and see if they believe me."  
  
"Why don't we go right now and tell them? I'll go with you," Gohan suggested. Videl just shook her head. "I've lived with this secret for twelve years, another day isn't going to hurt me. Plus, tomorrow would make a bigger impact because tomorrow is the anniversary of her death."  
  
Gohan nodded, "Are you sure you don't want to go now?" he asked.  
  
Videl shook her head and pulled Gohan down slowly, "I think you know what I want to do right now," she murmured into his ear before biting it playfully. Gohan smirked, but kept Videl from pulling him down any further. "I don't think that is such a good thing for you right now," he told her. Videl shook her head, "This is exactly what I need right now. I need you to be with me and I need to be with you. I love you, Gohan," she whispered.  
  
Gohan nodded, "I know you do. And I love you too, Videl, but you've got to realize something," he started, although he didn't exactly know how to explain it. Videl nodded, "What?" she asked when Gohan didn't say anything.  
  
Gohan flopped down onto the bed next to her, "You know that I'm a Saiyan and Saiyans are much different than humans. You know that we have a lot more strength than ordinary humans. But there are other differences as well. You've met my mother and my father. Did you happen to notice a little scar in the hollow of either one of their shoulders?" he asked her.  
  
Videl thought more a minute, twisting a strand or two of Gohan's hair growing on the back of his neck. "Yeah, I remember seeing that on your mother. I remember how odd I thought it was. But what does that have to do with anything?" she asked, concerned.  
  
Gohan sighed, "Saiyans don't exactly get married and have weddings. I mean, my mother and father did because my mother is an Earthling, but Vegeta and Bulma didn't and all the pure Saiyans never marry. They simply give each other that mark and that symbolizes that they are together."  
  
"How exactly do you get that mark?" Videl asked Gohan. Gohan cleared his throat, "Well, you kind of bite down on your mate and it makes the permanent mark, that never disappears."  
  
Videl gasped in shock, "So you're telling me that your father bit your mother's neck? Like a vampire?"  
  
Gohan laughed. "No, not like a vampire, but yeah, he bit her and his has one from my mother as well."  
  
"And did they just randomly decide one morning that they wanted to be together, so they decided to bite each other?" Videl asked, amaze.  
  
Gohan blushed, "Well, you don't really decide. It kind of just happens during, well, sex…" Gohan trailed off. Videl's mouth hung open, "Oh… ok. Well, that's great. So why are you telling me this?" she asked.  
  
"Because it is irreversible," Gohan told her. Videl stared at him for a moment, "And????" Videl asked.  
  
"So I'm afraid that we'll wake up tomorrow with these permanent marks on our shoulders," Gohan explained. Videl shrugged, "We can always hide them until they disappear. It's not a big deal," Videl told him.  
  
Gohan groaned and sat up, "I can't even talk to you right now about this. You're not taking me seriously. The mark isn't the only thing that is permanent thing. A bond is formed and if you even try to sleep with someone else, well it's not pretty. You're brain gets these little zaps. But if you bond, then you don't even have to worry about cheating because you start to go into hormonal overdrive, and you get the picture."  
  
Videl wrapped her arms around Gohan's neck, "I don't care about all that, Gohan. Just stop worrying about everything and come on. It'll be perfect and you can worry your little handsome head off when you wake up tomorrow, totally blissed out of your Saiyan mind," Videl wiggled under Gohan and smiled up at him. Gohan let her kiss him quickly before he put his hands on her waist and started kissing her back. When Videl stopped to breathe, Gohan sighed, "And then there's the whole thing of unprotected sex," he warned.  
  
"We'll worry when we're done," Videl reminded, pulling his shirt off over his head.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl groaned and tried to turned over, but stopped halfway and let out a sharp gasp in pain, "Holy crap, Gohan. What did you do to me?" she asked in pain. Gohan kissed her neck and then he collarbone, where Videl let out a small scream in pain, "Don't you dare do that again, or when I get out of this bed I'll kill you."  
  
Gohan kissed her neck, "I warned you before it happened, in all fairness."  
  
Videl rolled her eyes, "Now you and I both know that you aren't fair." Gohan chuckled and stroked her hair and carefully rolled her over in his arms. Videl groaned and curled up as well as she could to him. "My teeth hurt," she complained. "And that little mark of yours really hurts."  
  
"Stop wining. I told you what would happen. You didn't think having someone bite into your shoulder would hurt?" he asked as if Videl was stupid.  
  
Videl sighed, "I didn't think it would hurt all over," Videl remarked. "I don't think I'll be able to walk for days," she grimaced in pain.  
  
Gohan kissed her softly, "Sorry about that. But that wasn't just me. I'm hurting over here as well. I told you about the hormone jump."  
  
Videl nodded and rolled over onto her back and groaned once again. "How many times did we do it last night?" she asked softly, slightly embarrassed at what she had done. Gohan rolled over as well and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, "I lost count after ten," he told her. Videl kissed his shoulder carefully, "Well, I must admit, it was worth it."  
  
"Maybe for you," Gohan said, turning his head to face her, "What am I going to tell my mother?" 


	7. Together Without You

At World's End  
  
Chapter 7: Together Without You  
  
Hey everyone! Anti Darth Ani here and I've got a few things to say before I start with the next chapter. This story used to be PG-13, as all of my continuing readers know, but because of the last chapter and this one, I'm afraid I'm going to have to change the rating to R. If that bothers you, please don't read on.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Where the hell have you been?" Chi-Chi snapped, Goku standing behind her, holding her shoulders so she didn't attack her own son. "Chi-Chi, why don't you calm down and we'll discuss this issue later when Goten is asleep and you are a little more rational," Goku suggested.  
  
Chi-Chi growled warningly, "My son sneaks out of the house and spends the whole night somewhere else and I'm supposed to be calm? Let me tell you something, Goku. That behavior may be acceptable by you or your race, but I will not have my son acting like an ass while he is living in this household. Tell me where you were!" Chi-Chi yelled.  
  
Gohan had just reappeared in the living room, where Chi-Chi and Goku had been sitting on the couch, waiting up for him. "Well, Mom, I didn't really sneak out. I just never came home. But I was with someone," he explained.  
  
"Really? Tell me, Gohan, who were you with?" Chi-Chi asked.  
  
Gohan swallowed and looked to his father for support, but his father's eyes were clouded over and showed no willingness to stand up for him. Gohan was about to answer before Goku released Chi-Chi and walked over to Gohan. He grabbed Gohan's shirt. Gohan thought his father was going to blast him, but Goku pulled Gohan's sleeve down and stared at the fresh mark in the hallow of Gohan's neck and shoulder.  
  
Goku sighed and released Gohan, "Why don't you just go up to your room and let me explain some things to your mother." Gohan felt extremely relieved, at least until Goku continued, "Don't go to sleep, because you've still got a lot of explaining to do."  
  
Gohan nodded and climbed up the stairs, tossing his backpack down once he was in his bedroom. He changed into a pair of clean boxers and a new undershirt. Gohan looked at the mark in the mirror. 'What have we done?' he asked himself. 'I thought I was ready for this, but I was wrong. Videl and I are going to have to deal with things that we aren't ready to deal with yet. All because we were selfish and careless.' Gohan sighed and laid down on his bed, put his head on his hands and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure how his mother and father were going to take the news. His father hadn't seemed too happy and he knew his mother wasn't going to be pleased. Sure, she had always talked about him baring her grandchildren, but he was pretty sure she had meant after high school was over.  
  
Gohan heard his mother scream, "HE DID WHAT?" Gohan closed his eyes and started to pray to Dende. 'Just help me get through this and I'll never do anything this stupid ever again.' Gohan was wishing he had dragged Videl with him. Videl… He wasn't exactly pleased with her at the moment. If she had just listened to him and thought it through, he wouldn't have had to face his parents because nothing would have happened. But no matter his temporary hate, he knew he loved her. And he would have to because they had made a permanent relationship now.  
  
Chi-Chi came bursting through the bedroom door. "Are you insane?" she yelled, forgetting about Goten, who had fallen asleep in his bed in the corner. "What ever possessed you and Videl to mate? You're seventeen, for Dende's sake! You aren't ready for a Saiyan bond! You must be out of your mind. Do you realize the measure of what you have done?" she hissed.  
  
Gohan ran a hand through his head, "You don't have to lecture me about it, Mother. I realize what a mistake I've made, but I can't exactly change anything about it, so we need to just get over it."  
  
Chi-Chi wanted to say something else, but she just turned and cried on Goku's chest. Goku stared at his son, but didn't say anything. Gohan fell into a deep, horrible sleep.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl woke up extremely early. It was only four in the morning. Gohan had left only two hours earlier. Videl didn't feel any better. All the muscles in her body were tight and causing her a great deal of pain. She sighed and closed her eyes. Even if Videl had made a mistake, which she was starting to believe, she knew it was worth it, like she had told Gohan. She had never felt the way she did before. Every inch of her body burned painfully when she thought about him. And when he touched her - Videl thought she was in heaven. Nothing could have prepared her for the night she had had, but it didn't even matter. Videl was happy for once, and that was all that mattered to her at the moment.  
  
The bedroom door burst open suddenly. Videl sat up in her bed, letting the covers fall. She had redressed once Gohan had left. Hercule closed the door behind him and locked it. "What has gotten into you?" he snapped. Videl shivered uncontrollably. Something didn't feel right and Videl was spooked. Hercule picked up Videl's old nightgown. "Your friend comes over here to study and at eleven o'clock at night I here screams coming from this room. I come to check on you, because I was naturally worried for my only child. The door is locked and I gather the facts to find the truth - you are having sex with a weakling human in my house. Where do you get off, Videl? I have provided you care and food and shelter and everything you have ever wanted. What are the two major rules for you to obey?" Hercule shouted at her.  
  
Videl started to cry. Old memories start flashing through her mind.  
  
++++++++++  
  
A nine-year-old Videl laid down in her bed. Hercule finished reading her the book he had started earlier. He kissed her forehead and set the book on the nightstand. Ever since her mother's death, her father had tried to take care of her. But he still drank as much, if not more than, as he used to. This particular night, Hercule had gone to a victory party, leaving Videl home by herself. He had come back after ten drinks, totally drunk out of his mind. But he still had managed to finish the book.  
  
But then things changed that Videl had never thought imaginable. Her father took her mouth to his roughly and kissed her deeply. Videl had tried to pull away from him, to get him off. She loved her father, but she had never been close to him. She didn't comprehend what was happening, but she knew her father was up to no good. Unfortunately, Videl wasn't nearly as strong as her father. Her father had only started training her the year before, and she wasn't getting much better. She couldn't get her father off of her.  
  
Hercule started to unbutton her nightgown. Videl let out a small cry, but Hercule jerked away from her. He striped her naked, "You just shut up and lay there until I'm done. Don't make one sound," he warned her as he undressed himself.  
  
Videl cried again, "Please stop Daddy," she begged. "I don't want to give you a son," she told him, remembering what he had said to her mother.  
  
Hercule turned to face her and smirked evilly. "Your mother didn't know what was good for her. You don't want to end up like she did, do you?" he asked. Videl shook her head slowly. "Then just sit there."  
  
Hercule didn't even try to be gentle. He quickly plunged into Videl's fragile figure. Videl screamed in pain, but Hercule just slapped her across the face and warned her not to make another sound.  
  
Once he was done, he just left his daughter there, naked, in her bed. Videl didn't know what rape was, and she wouldn't find out until it was too late.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"What are the golden rules?" Hercule asked her again. He had already started to unbutton his necktie.  
  
'Oh god,' Videl thought. She mind was screaming, but she was frozen in place. She was still too weak to move. She cursed Gohan for that. "Never to talk about Mommy's death and never to bring other man into Daddy's home," Videl said, recalling the first time he had ever explained this to her.  
  
"Please don't make this happen like it happened all the other times," Hercule asked, pulling off his pants. Videl turned her face the other way and closed her eyes. "Just lay there like a good little girl and let Daddy have his way and then you can go back to thinking about that weakling."  
  
Videl let tears fall freely. She had to remain calm if she wanted to be able to try her dream walking to transport herself out of there. But Videl was scared out of her mind and was having a hard time trying to stay calm.  
  
"You go ahead and report me to the police about you mother's death. But the truth is that you've waited too long to come out with it. I'll simply explain that you've been having a hard time because that Gohan boy raped you and you're using my as your scapegoat."  
  
"You wouldn't," Videl whispered. No matter what happened to her, she wouldn't let her father touch Gohan. She needed Gohan and if he hurt her, there was nothing left to live for. Videl took a deep breath and calmed down again. "I won't let you hurt me again," Videl told her father sternly. "I'm not nine or ten anymore. I'm seventeen and I realize what you used to do to me. I'm going to report you and they'll believe me. And I'll come out about you killing Mother as well, so you need to spend this last night praying for your life, not raping me."  
  
Hercule jumped on top of Videl and slammed her wrists against the headrest. "You were always my best fuck," he told her as he started to rip her nightgown off.  
  
Videl took one last look at her father before she closed her eyes and threw an image of Gohan's room into her mind. Videl felt herself being yanked away from her bed and her father. She landed on a soft comforter. Videl opened her eyes slowly. She had landed in Gohan's bed. He had fallen asleep.  
  
Videl used her last strength to drag herself to the top of the bed. Videl shook Gohan until he's eyes opened. He gasped and sat up quickly, "What are you doing here?" he whispered. "You can't be here, Videl. My mother and father are mad enough as it is and having you in my room isn't going to make matters better," Gohan told her.  
  
Videl crawled over Gohan and smashed her lips against his. She didn't want him yelling at her. She wanted him holding her and comforting her and telling her that everything was going to be ok. Gohan pushed Videl away roughly. "What are you doing?" he snapped. Then his eyes traveled down her body at her ripped nightgown, which was showing much of her cleavage and covered very little now. "What happened to you?"  
  
"I just had to get away," Videl whispered hoarsely, not managing anything else. Gohan pulled her up against him. Videl cried onto his shoulder for a half an hour before they both fell asleep.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Chi-Chi had finished making breakfast when Goten came racing down the race. He pulled on her apron. "Mommy, guess who's here?" he asked, his eyes glittering.  
  
"Who?" Chi-Chi asked, thinking he was talking about other one of his imaginary friends. Goten pulled her down until her mouth reached her ear. "Videl's here," he whispered, as if it was a secret.  
  
Chi-Chi dropped the plate she was serving. It shattered into hundreds of pieces and food covered the floor, but Chi-Chi didn't even notice this. She quickly told Goten to please clean this up as she hurried up the stairs. She threw open the bedroom door and sure enough, there were Videl and Gohan, sleeping peacefully together. Chi-Chi was ready to scream. But instead, she grabbed Gohan's ear and gave it a painful tug.  
  
Gohan let out a sharp yelp and his eyes snapped open. "What the hell?" he muttered.  
  
"What the hell is right, young man. What did I tell you last night about Videl?" Chi-Chi snapped. "Let me remind you, just in case you have forgotten. I told you that under no circumstances was she allowed in this bedroom, even if the two of you are mates. How do you think I felt when my eight-year-old son comes running down in the kitchen and tells me his older brother has a girl in their room?"  
  
"Mother, please. We didn't do anything. I just woke up and Videl had transported herself here. She was so scared, I couldn't just send her back in the state she was in."  
  
"Well then, what happened to her?" Chi-Chi demanded, placing her hands on her waist.  
  
Gohan ran a hand through Videl's hair, looking down at her face. Her mouth was set in a tight grimace and her skin was pale. "I don't exactly know for sure. All she said was 'I just had to get away'. She didn't say anything else, just cried until she fell asleep. Just keep Goten downstairs and I'll try to figure out what's wrong with her."  
  
Chi-Chi sighed and gave up. "Fine. I'll feed him breakfast, which is ready when you're done. And since Videl's here, she might as well stay for a little while and eat. But don't do anything stupid, Gohan," she warned before she let herself out of the room and closed the door.  
  
Gohan stroked Videl's face. "Videl?" he whispered. Videl's eyes fluttered open. She smiled softly, "Hey, you." She kissed his neck, because that was the closest part of his body. Gohan leaned his head down and kissed her softly. "What happened last night?" he asked Videl, who automatically froze up. She gripped Gohan's undershirt, "I really don't want to talk about it right now."  
  
"Well, whether you wish to or not, you need to. My mother was pissed enough as it was, and now Goten went and told her you were here, so she's double pissed and if I don't tell her something, sparks are going to fly and heads are going to roll," Gohan explained as nicely as he could.  
  
Videl shivered and clutched to Gohan harder, "My father… he heard us yesterday and he was angry." Videl looked up into Gohan's eyes. "There's something I've never told anyone before Gohan. Something I have tried to forget for most of my life. A few years after my mother's death, my father started to… well, he raped me."  
  
Gohan took a deep breath in. "Oh God, Videl. I'm so sorry. I had no idea."  
  
"Like I said, I never told anyone. But last night, he heard us talking about turning him in and he got made. To put it simply, he tried to go back to his old ways as a means to shut me up." Videl closed her eyes and let a few tears roll down her cheeks.  
  
Gohan kissed her forehead, "I'm so sorry, Videl. He didn't hurt you, did he? Because if he didn't I'll-" Videl shook his head. "You won't do anything, Gohan. This is my battle and I need to fight it alone. I just had to get away from him last night and I couldn't think of any other place I could go. I'm sorry if I got you in more trouble with your family."  
  
Gohan shook his head, "Don't worry about it," he told her. "You're safe here. You'll always be safe here."  
  
++++++++++  
  
That was a short chapter. Don't worry, I'll update soon. I hope no one's too mad at me for what I did… 


	8. Trial and Error

At World's End  
  
Chapter 8: Trial and Error  
  
Welcome back everyone! Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers. I know I've said this before and I'm sure it's starting to get annoying, but please make sure you at least visit my little fan-fiction site/mailing list. It's at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/antidarthani All readers and fans are welcome to join. It means a lot to me. Now, on with this never ending fan-fic of mine. Although I must admit, it's one of my favorites.  
  
Also, this is going to be another long chapter, so get yourself settled in. I hope you don't find it boring. This one was hard for me…  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl let the warm water trickle down her body. She sighed and finished rinsing out the conditioner that remained in her hair. 'I'm really going to tell the police about my father. After all these years. But maybe I'm just wasting my time. He might be right. Why would they believe me over my father, the supposed savior of the world? This is a long shot for me to take…' Thoughts of mixed feelings ran through her mind. She was starting to doubt herself on the matter. 'What's the use, anyhow? I can protect myself from him now. Do I really need to turn him in?' Videl sighed and turned the water hotter. 'Still, I should just do it for my mother. It's been so long since he murdered her…' Videl felt the water gathering in her eyes, and she doubted they were from her shower. 'My father is a murderer and I need to accept that. He's also a rapist. He's a danger to the society and I need to at least let the police know, even if they don't believe me. I need to warn them, for all it's worth.'  
  
The bathroom door opened a crack and Gohan shoved his head in between the door and the door frame. He could barely see an inch in front of his face. The entire room was humid from the large amounts of heat being emitted from the shower. "Hey, Videl? Are you almost done? My mother's getting worried that you drowned in there."  
  
Videl didn't say a word. Staring at the water faucet, she saw her naked reflection in the brass sections of it. 'Have I really gotten myself into something I can't win? What will I gain from all of this?' she asked herself. Questions clouded her mind and her judgment, keeping her from realizing anything else, including the fact that there was a very concerned Gohan now opening the door further and stepping into the bathroom.  
  
Gohan closed the door quietly. "Videl? Are you alright in there?" he asked, but Videl still didn't say a word. An eternal argument held her entire thoughts and concentration. "Videl?" Gohan asked before he pulled the shower curtain back a few inches to check on her.  
  
Videl screamed, gaining awareness of what was going on. She slipped on the wet shower floor, losing her balance and threatening to fall, smashing her head open. Gohan reached out quickly and scooped her up out of the shower with one arm, using his free hand to stop the excess water from running even more. Videl shivered at the sudden change in temperature and clung to Gohan helplessly. Videl clutched onto his shoulders and buried her head into his shoulder in embarrassment. Gohan reached for a towel, found a dark navy one, and then proceeded to wrap it around Videl's naked form.  
  
"What happened to you in there?" he asked softly while Videl tucked one end of the towel under the other, keeping it from falling off of her. Looking up at him slowly, Videl gave a slight shrug. "I really don't know. You scared the crap out of me, Gohan. I didn't even hear you come in."  
  
Gohan pushed her wet hair out of her face and let it drip down the towel in the back, "I called out to you. Asked you if you were ok, but you didn't say a word. You really scared me there, too."  
  
Videl nodded and kissed the tip of his nose, "I'm sorry," she told him sincerely. "I don't know what's gotten into me lately," she admitted. 'Get a grip of yourself,' she snapped to herself. Gohan stared into her deep eyes, but they contained no emotions that he was able to detect. "Well, I'd better go change now and you should get dress," Gohan said, looking down at his soaking wet clothes. Videl giggled softly, "I'm so sorry about that." Gohan nodded and turned to leave, but Videl remembered something, "Gohan? I don't have any clothes with me."  
  
Gohan stared at his girlfriend, currently only wrapped in a short towel. He was resisting the urge to take her in his arms and well… "Well, we can't have you going to the police in that little thing," he teased. Videl rolled her eyes at him, "No shit, Sherlock. I think we've already established that." Gohan motioned for her to follow him. Videl hurried across the hall and into Gohan's room. Once inside, she closed and locked the door. Goten was no where to be found, but Videl was thinking that it was probably for the best that he wasn't. Gohan rummaged through his dresser drawers, but when he turned back to face Videl, he was empty handed. "I don't really have anything you can wear. If you want, I can go check to see if my mother has any old clothes that she wouldn't mind lending to you," Gohan told her.  
  
Videl smiled and shook her head, "That might be a smart decision, now wouldn't it?" Gohan's lips formed a straight line, not letting him frown, but he wasn't smiling anymore. 'What's with her new attitude?' he asked himself, but didn't dare voice his thoughts allowed. He had to learn to accept her as she was, because of certain recent events, it sure didn't seem as if she was going anywhere. Once Gohan had left the room, Videl let out a breath she hadn't realized she was keeping in. She didn't understand why she had said that. As soon as the words had left her mouth, she had regretted saying them. Gohan had given her an odd look she hadn't liked one bit. Videl realized that she had deserved it.  
  
Gohan entered the room again without saying a word, dropping a full set of clothes into Videl's arms. He slammed the door shut and locked it. Videl gulped when she realized that she was going to be changing in front of him. 'Well, it's not that big of a deal,' she reasoned. 'I've already slept with him more than once. And he just pulled me out of a shower, naked. So it's not like I've got anything that I'm hiding that he hasn't already seen before.' Still, Videl felt a blush creep unexpectantly onto her cheeks. "Never in a million years…" she muttered under her breath as she dropped the towel and quickly changed into the outfit Gohan had brought her. Amazingly, it fit her exactly. By the time Videl turned around to thank Gohan, he was dressed in a comfortable looking pair of sweat pants and a plain green turtle neck.  
  
"Videl," Gohan started to say a sentence, but Videl just shook her head at him and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. Shocked out of his mind, Gohan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter up against him, until their bodies were meshed together. Videl murmured something under her breath that Gohan didn't catch. Truth be told, Gohan had reached down and pulled Videl off her feet, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist while he pushed her up against a wall. Gohan pressed his mouth against hers forcefully, and Videl didn't mind one bit. She urgently complied, pushing him to go even further.  
  
Videl felt as if she didn't get air soon, she was going to pass out. Gohan didn't seem to register this fact, so Videl ran her hands into his hair and grabbed it, forcefully pulling it away from her face. Videl gasped for air while Gohan pulled back. "Are you trying to make me go bald?" he asked her between breaths. Videl shook her head and leaded forward, resting her head on his chest. "My word, Gohan," she gasped. "You sure know what you want this morning."  
  
Gohan blushed brightly and pulled her away from the wall. Videl released her legs and allowed herself to stand up on her own two feet. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Saiyan urges, you know. They're extremely hard to control." Videl just nodded, "I think we should be heading to the police station now before I change my mind about the whole thing."  
  
Gohan simply nodded to her. Neither of them moved from a movement, but after a minute or so, Videl released the Saiyan and walked out of the bedroom and into the hall. Gohan followed suit and like a dog on a leash, following in Videl's steps. Chi-Chi was sitting at the kitchen table. When she glanced up and saw the two teenagers, she jumped to her feet and got up into Gohan's face, which was hard for a short woman at her age. "What the hell was going on up there?" she snapped. "I hear screaming and my eight-year-old son in sitting as this very table, asking me what's going on. What am I supposed to tell him? That his brother is upstairs fucking his girlfriend?" Chi-Chi hissed.  
  
Videl blushed brightly and tilted her head down, deciding it would be all the better to just stare at her feet and allow Gohan to do all the talking. Gohan, however, was having trouble forming words with his mouth. "Mother! I can't believe you'd think that! Videl and I weren't…" he allowed his last sentence to trail off, not being able to say it allowed.  
  
Chi-Chi sighed and slumped down into her chair and running her hand through her hair, "I hardly know what to think anymore. All I know it that nothing like that had ever happen in this house. Do you understand?" she asked, taking a long sip from her coffee mug.  
  
Gohan sighed, "Of course I understand, Mother. I've lived here my whole life. I surely remember the household rules."  
  
Chi-Chi snorted, very unladylike. "Oh, of course you do. That's why you have a girl up in your room and don't even show up all night until after you've mated with someone that you hardly know. Of course you know the family rules." Chi-Chi gave a weary look to Videl. "It's not that I don't like you darling. Far from it. I believe Gohan could use a female in his life. But really, Gohan, you could have at least thought about the results of your actions."  
  
Videl started to shake. Gohan frowned and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. He kissed the side of her neck softly, "Mother…" he started, but he didn't have the heart to carry the conversation any farther.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl stared into the police officer's eyes. "Are you trying to tell me," he asked, "that your father is not only the murderer of his wife, but a rapier of his daughter?" Videl nodded without voicing a word. The police officer slammed one foot down on his desk and then forced his other leg up as well, crossing it over his other one. "The Hercule we all know and love? The Hercule who has saved this world twice? He is a cold blooded murder and a rapist?" Videl nodded yet again and waited for the police officer to say something else. "Well, Miss Satan, do you have any proof of this accusations?"  
  
Videl swallowed slowly, "No sir, I don't. I just needed to get it off my chest, even if I don't have proof."  
  
The police officer narrowed his eyes and leaned forward slightly in his chair, "Are you telling me that after eight years, you've decided to come clean?" he asked suspiciously. Videl sighed and nodded again. She shot a glare Gohan's way, who was just leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. 'Some help and support you are,' Videl criticized to herself.  
  
"Well, you can always hire an attorney and fight against him in court, if you wish. If that is your approach, we will go and take him into custody this minute. But if you aren't going to press charges, there isn't really much we can do. And I'm warning you that if you do go to court, the chances of winning without any proof are slim to none."  
  
Videl sighed and leaned back against the visitor's chair she was sitting in, across from the officer. "Is there anything your forces can do to collect any evidence? I mean, can't someone open up my mother's case again and use anything from that file against him?" she asked hopefully.  
  
The police officer took his feet off his desk and leaned forward, placing his palms on his desk, "You are fishing, Miss Satan, in a pond that had long since died. I can have a detective review your mother's file, but it's a cold case, miss, and I don't think anything will show up. We can get a warrant for your house to check for your father's semen in your bed to show that he has raped you recently, but other than that, there isn't much we can do."  
  
Videl closed her eyes. She was too tired to deal with the bad news, "But he didn't rape me last night because I got away! So there wouldn't be any semen anyway!" she said, agitated.  
  
"Well, normally, there wouldn't be. But if he released before he even tried to enter you, there would be traces left unless he washed the sheets. It's a slim chance, but it's better than what you've got now."  
  
Videl thought about it and sighed, "Fine. How long will it take for you to get the warrant and then process whatever you find?" she asked.  
  
The officer shrugged, "I don't know. We're backlogged right now and I don't even mess with that. The detective and crime scene investigators deal with that. But we'll call you when we've got any leads. I'll make sure someone looks over your mother's case." Videl nodded and gave the officer her cell phone number. She hadn't brought it though, so she would have to stop by her house to pick it up and to get some clothes to wear until the whole mess was over. Videl stood up and walked out of the police station.  
  
Gohan followed after her and grabbed her wrist, "Videl, are you insane?" he snapped. Videl spun around on her heels and faced him, "Excuse me?" she asked, taken back.  
  
"If they process your bed and the maids haven't changed the sheets, they might not find your father's semen on the sheets, but they're going to find mine," he hissed, keeping his voice low. Videl paled slightly, "Omigod, I totally forgot about that. If they find that and release that information, the media will have a field day." She looked up and met Gohan's eyes, "Well, there's nothing we can do now except hope they don't find yours, but find my father's." Videl smiled softly, "I know you're going to hate what I have to say next, but I need to stop by my house for a few minutes. I need to get my cell phone and some clothes. I'm planning at staying at Erasa's until this whole thing blows over. I don't think she'll mind if I tell her the truth."  
  
Gohan was slightly confused, "You aren't going to stay at my house?" he asked.  
  
Videl shook her head, "That's the last thing I need right now, Gohan. I just don't think that it would be the best answer after everything else that has been going on. I need to spend some time with my friends again. I haven't seen Erasa in such a long time, it seems like. And besides, if anyone could make me feel better about this, it's Erasa. She always knows how to cheer me up," Videl told him.  
  
Gohan chuckled, "Right. Well, I thought I've been doing a good job of that, but whatever." Videl rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean," she told him.  
  
Gohan smirked, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, why don't we get moving? The sooner we get to your house, the sooner we can leave it."  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl knocked on the front door softly. Gohan had his arms around his waist, pulling her back up against his chest. He kissed her neck sweetly. Videl closed her eyes and moaned softly, "Stop…" she whispered breathlessly. Gohan pulled his lips away from her skin just as Melissa opened the front door. Videl managed to somehow free herself from Gohan's grasp. "Hi, I just wanted to pick up a few things. I won't be long," she explained to the maid, taking Gohan's hand in hers and jerking him into the house and up the stairs.  
  
Videl opened the door to her room and froze, causing Gohan to ran right into her. Gohan took a moment to recover and then peered over Videl's shoulder to see what could have possibly effected her. Gohan took in a collective breath. Hercule was fast asleep in Videl's bed, obviously still bare naked.  
  
Videl turned around into Gohan's chest and like out a small whimper. Gohan wrapped his arms around her protectively. "It's ok," he whispered. "Just hurray up and get what you can without waking him up." Videl nodded and made her first attempt at entering the room. When she noticed that her father didn't move, Videl became bolder and walked quietly to the dresser. She opened the top drawer, which opened with a low groan. Videl winced and looked over her shoulder, but Hercule was still fast asleep.  
  
Videl grabbed a number of bras and pairs of underwear. She tossed them to Gohan, who caught them effortlessly, but almost dropped them when he realized exactly what they were. His cheeks turned a fuchsia color, but he concentrated more when Videl opened the next door and started throwing shirts at him. Videl paused for a moment and took a deep breath. 'I can do this. Gohan's right there at the door and if Dad moves one inch, Gohan will get me out of here. I just have to keep moving quickly and get out of here unnoticed. The police will take care of him,' Videl tried to reassure herself.  
  
She opened the last drawer and snatched the first jeans and pants she found. She closed the door and ran to Gohan, who was standing patiently in the doorway. "Let's get out of here," Videl whispered, taking back some of the more personal items of clothing.  
  
Gohan shook his head, "You have to go back and find something to sleep in. All you have are clothes to wear out. You don't have any night garments." Videl groaned and turned back around to face her bedroom. Her nightgowns were going to be trickier to get. They were in her closet, which was on the other side of her bed. Videl's whole body shook with fear. She turned back around to face Gohan, "I can't," she cried. "I'm too afraid."  
  
"Come on, Videl. Just this last thing and we can split," Gohan insisted, but Videl shook her head. "He'll wake up. The closet door makes a lot of noise and it'll wake him up for sure."  
  
Gohan shifted all the clothes into one hand and used the other to trace a soft line up and down Videl's cheek, "You can't give up yet. Just run and grab something out of there and we'll leave. I promise."  
  
Videl slowly nodded and turned back around. She took one step into the room when she stopped. Gasping, Videl spun back around quickly and grabbed Gohan's arm, yanking him away from the bedroom. She did not stop her mad dash until they were outside in the safety of the burning sun. "Videl!" Gohan snapped.  
  
"He wasn't there," she yelled. "I turned back around to go in, and he wasn't in the bed anymore. I had to get out of there. I couldn't look at him. Just thinking about him gives me the creeps."  
  
"But what about your cell phone?" Gohan questioned. "You leave it there and the police will call. Hercule will pick it up because he is currently sleeping in your bed, and then he will mostly skip town."  
  
"As long as his stays away from me, I don't see any harm in that," Videl said, forcing a fake smile. "Can we just get away from this house now? Please?"  
  
Gohan shook his head, "You have to go back. Like you said, he isn't even in there away more. Just transport yourself up next to the closet and take whatever you see first. Then all you have to do is transport yourself back down here."  
  
Videl sighed. "Fine, you win." Videl looked up at Gohan's face and her eyes found his, "I love you, Gohan," she whispered softly. Gohan nodded his head as Videl closed her eyes and disappeared, "I know," he whispered to the air.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl smiled at herself as she appeared right in front of the closet door. She was definitely getting better at transporting herself. She didn't even think it should be titled dream walking anymore. The fact was, Videl hadn't had to be asleep for quite some time. Smiling even brighter, Videl pulling the door open and pulled four nightgowns off their hangers. Another sleeping garment caught her eyes and Videl grinned evilly, snatching it up and adding it to her pile. She couldn't even remember why she had bought it at the time. The silly old thing had never been touched since Videl had put it in the closet after buying it. But as Videl's eyes ran over it, she was glad she had bought it after all.  
  
Videl turned around to reach for her cell phone, which she had left on her nightstand. But Videl never made it all the way around. An extremely muscular hand covered her mouth while another wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer and closer to her bed. She tried screaming, but it didn't make a sound. She wouldn't cry, not for his satisfaction. She had to fight back and give it all she had.  
  
Realizing her danger, Videl starting thrashing her whole body about. She tried to use her own weight to throw him off of her, but, it only succeeded in pushing Videl down on the bed. He had been expecting this visit because he pulled out a roll of duct tape and taped her mouth shut. Pushing her down on the bed, he straddled over her waist and proceeded by taping her arms together and then tying them to the headboard with some wire that had been next to the duct tape. Videl tried to throw him off of her, but he held her legs motionless. She tried moving her arms next, but the resistance forced the wires to cut her wrists sharply.  
  
So all Videl could do was look up at her rapier with her eyes wide. "You are always my best fuck," he told her again, tearing off her shirt with one swift movement and then reached down for her pants. Videl screamed as hard as she could, but it only came out in a muffled whisper. He then ran his hand down her face and across her shoulder before running his fingers down to her bra. Having practiced many times, he snapped it right off and tossed it aside. Videl closed her eyes and turned her head to the side while her father grabbed her breasts painfully. Videl let out a cry of pain, but Hercule just laugh at her and forced his hands against her harder. Shirtless, he quickly yanked his pants and boxers off and threw them aside. "Now you know how this goes darling. Just stay still and it'll be over soon enough."  
  
Without another word, Hercule plunged into her. Videl tried to scream once again and tears started flowing down her cheeks. As an answer to this, Hercule slapped her hard enough to knock any normal person out. Hercule pushed one hand under her body and pressed her up against him before pulling out of her and starting it all over again.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan glanced at his watch and then back to the Satan mansion. He gathered the clothes up in his arms and started backing back into the gate. Videl had been ten minutes and Gohan was starting to worry that something had gone wrong. Gohan knocked on the front door when he reached it and Melissa opened it quickly, pulling him inside without a word. Her eyes were filled with terror and fear. "I couldn't stop him," she whisper.  
  
Melissa ducked her head down and Gohan's heart sank. He stared at the maid. "What do you mean, you couldn't stop him?" he asked.  
  
Melissa shook her head, "Hercule's much too strong for me to stop. He came running out of her room and locked himself in his study. I tried to help her…" Melissa turned away and ran off to the kitchen.  
  
Gohan struggled to breathe. He dropped the clothes to the floor and ran as fast as he could up the stairs and to the open bedroom door. Gohan ran in and froze in his track. Videl's eyes traveled over to him as he raced to her side and pulled the duct tape off of her mouth and arms. Videl cried out in pain as soon as her mouth was free. Gohan yanked off the wires that held her to the bed.  
  
Gohan pulled Videl up against him. "I'm sorry," he cried into her hair. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Videl pushed him away from her and pulled the covers up to cover her naked body. Gohan tried to comfort her, but Videl just glared at him with cold, dark eyes. 'This is my fault,' he thought to himself. 'It's all my fault this happened.'  
  
Gohan picked up one of the nightgowns that had ended up on the floor during Videl's struggle. Videl sat still, without saying a word or moving an inch, while Gohan carefully pulled it on over her head. With some difficultly, Gohan managed to get her arms through the arm holes and pull it down to cover up her most private areas. Against Videl's protests, Gohan lifted her up off the bed gently. Gohan wanted to cry when he looked at Videl.  
  
"Come on," he whispered to Videl, "Let's get you out of here. I'll come back and deal with your father once you're feeling a little better." Gohan held Videl up against his chest with one hand and grabbed up the nightgowns on the floor with the other. He walked out into the hall and down the stairs, which was painstakingly slow. Once he had finally reached the main hall, Gohan bent down carefully and gathered up all of Videl's clothes which he had dropped earlier.  
  
Then he walked out in front of the house and took flight. While flying over Satan City, Videl clung to him tightly. Gohan held her in a way that kept her nightgown from flapping all about, which would have allowed innocent pedestrians on the streets of the city a peak at Videl that Gohan would never let another man or woman see.  
  
Just before reaching the outskirts of the city, Videl lifted her head up off of Gohan's shoulder, "I want to go to Erasa's," she told him in a hoarse voice.  
  
Gohan shook his head, "I'm taking you to my house for now, Videl. You need to be looked after and I know someone who will be able to help you with anything you need."  
  
Videl tried to put away from Gohan, but she couldn't manage and she was too tired to transport herself away from him. "Erasa is my best friend and I would much rather talk to her about what's happened than you, Gohan," she snapped.  
  
A hint of hurt glimmered in Gohan's eyes for a moment, but it soon evaporated and was replaced by a cold, sinister look that made Videl extremely uncomfortable. She sighed and leaned back against his chest, closing her eyes. "Fine, have it your way," she muttered.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl woke up with a start. With a great deal of difficulty, she managed to sit up and take in her surroundings. She was in a place she could not remember ever being before. The room was empty of people and only consisted of a metal bed, a white, plastic dresser, and a door going to who knows where. Videl pushed herself up into a sitting position and groaned. She had forgotten how much pain her father had always caused. Well, now she was remembering. Every inch of muscle in her body screamed in pain. Videl touched her cheek softly and grimaced in pain. She knew that it was going to be black and blue for many days into the future.  
  
Using all the will she had, Videl forced herself to stand up on her own two feet. She limped over to the door. Of course, there wasn't a door handle on it, so she felt trapped, not knowing how to escape. 'Well this is just great. Really what I need after everything else that's been happening.'  
  
Suddenly, the door slid up. Shocking Videl, she lost her balance and fell to the floor, hurting her already bruised butt. Once the door opened all the way, Videl recognized a certain Bulma Briefs at the door. Bulma looked down at Videl, extremely worried, "My dear, are you ok?" she asked, helping Videl to her feet. "Gohan explained what happened to you. I know you probably don't want to talk to me about what happened, but Gohan was just so worried about you that he didn't want you out of his sight until this whole case with your father is over."  
  
Videl smiled slowly, "He really does care, even if he has a funny way of showing it. It's not that I don't trust you enough not to tell you about what happened, but it's just very awkward for me. I've never told anyone about what my father has done to me before, and now it seems as if everyone is finding out. It's a very uncomfortable situation, you know?"  
  
Bulma smiled at the teenager. "I can't truthfully say that I know what the feeling is like, because I've never had anything as bad as that happen to me before. But, I know if I was going through it like you are, I wouldn't be able to do anything but cry. You're doing a lot better than I ever would. I know it's uncomfortable for you, but I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk about it, or anything else that you wouldn't feel comfortable telling other people, I'm always right here. And I'm a very good listener. Just don't ask Vegeta that, because he would say that I'm not…" Bulma smiled at Videl and gave he a soft hug. "You just hang in there, ok? I'll go find Gohan and ask him where he put all your clothes he brought back with him." Bulma turned to leave, but paused for a moment, "You do know where you are, don't you?" she asked Videl.  
  
Videl smiled, "I do know," she told Bulma, feeling a little safer. Once Bulma left, the door slid down and closed. Videl hugged herself to try to stop her shivers. A stray tear slid down her cheek, but none after that.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan walked down the hallways slowly, spaced out and thinking about his girlfriend. Goten went flying down the hall the other way, almost knocking Gohan over. Gohan smiled and shook his head at how playful his little brother was. Soon after, Trunks came zooming around the corner and flew over Gohan, missing his head by mere inches.  
  
Gohan sighed and continued his journey down the long, narrow hallway at Capsule Corp. His stomach was a little queasy, not knowing if Videl hated him for bringing her there instead of to Erasa's as Videl had asked. He knew she hadn't wanted to spend anymore time with him since the incident, but Gohan was so worried about her. He just wanted a doctor to check her over before he let her run off to her friend's house. Once he knew that no physical harm had been done to her, he didn't mind having her go to her friend's to help her heal her mental harm.  
  
Gohan let out a surprised yelp as he was jerked into a room he hadn't noticed was there. The door slid shut and Videl smiled up at him, "Hello," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
  
"Are you ok?" was the first thing Gohan asked her. Videl nodded and rested her head against his chest, "I hope you don't think I blame you for what happened with my father. Because I know it had nothing to do with you."  
  
Gohan shook his head, "If I hadn't made you go back to get your nightgowns, he would have never had a chance to get to you. And if I had gone with you, I could have protected you from him."  
  
Videl sighed, "Stop blaming yourself, Gohan. You and I both know that it isn't either one of our faults. If we're going to blame anyone, we have to blame my father. You don't always have to worry about me, you know. Bulma told me that's why you brought me here." She paused for a moment to place a kiss on his cheek, "You've got to be able to trust me to make my own decisions and protect myself," Videl told him. "Otherwise, I don't know if I'll be able to trust you enough to…," Videl smiled and pressed her mouth against his ear and whispered a few words into it.  
  
Gohan blushed brightly, "Videl!" he said, a little shocked. She just shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, I don't know if I can do that right now, anyway, with the way things have been going. You want to know something?" she asked him.  
  
Gohan looked down at her, "I actually don't think I do. I think I'll wait a little before I decide to listen to you again," he told her.  
  
Videl smiled at him and pressed her body closer to his, "I love you. You know that, don't you?" she asked Gohan. He nodded and rested his forehead on hers. "No matter what happens," she continued, "during my father's trial, I just want you to remember that. Will you promise me that?"  
  
Smiling slightly, Gohan answered, "Of course I will. But only for you," he added. Videl giggled and kissed the tip of his nose. "Sometimes you drive me crazy, Gohan."  
  
Gohan grinned, "I didn't know I was the reason you are crazy. No wonder…" Videl opened her mouth in shock and stood back away from him, slapping his arm playfully, "Why, if I hadn't slept with you, I would have killed you for that comment."  
  
Gohan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. Then he leaned forward and put his mouth near her ear, like she had to him only moment ago, "But you have, Miss Satan. And you can never take it back." Videl leaned back into Gohan's chest and closed her eyes, placing her hands on top of his, which were resting on her stomach. "Hmm," Videl muttered softly. Gohan kissed her ear, "Everything's going to work out," he promised, becoming serious again.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"I would like to call Mr. Hercule Satan to the stand," Videl's attorney, hired by Videl's new best friend, Bulma Briefs, told the judge, rising to his feet. Hercule looked shocked, as if the whole case wasn't about him. Videl looked down at her lap while she nervously shredded an innocent piece of paper into bits. She hoped that she wouldn't need it for anything later.  
  
Hercule stood up from the table next to the one where Videl was sitting. He fixed his tie and walked up to the witness stand. The bailiff held out a bible and Hercule placed his hand on it. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the bailiff asked Hercule. Hercule stood silently for a moment before he answered, "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Then he took his hand off of it as if it were poison and sat down in the chair, while the bailiff returned to his pose in the corner.  
  
Hercule's attorney stood up and approached the bench. "Mr. Satan, your daughter has claimed that you killed your wife on October 17th in 1991. Would you mind sharing your account of what happened the night your wife died?"  
  
Hercule smiled, trying to be charming. Unfortunately, he didn't exactly pull off the look. He was not used to wearing a suit with a tie, so he shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "But of course," he said in his loud, booming voice directly into the microphone. "I had finished putting my daughter, Videl," he shot Videl a nasty look, but she didn't notice, "into her bed for the night. I put on her nightlight and closed the bedroom door, then proceeded down the stairs. When I made my way into the family room, my wife was laying on the floor, bleeding all over to place. I ran to her side and tried to wake her, but she didn't move an inch. It was then that I noticed that the front door was open and my wife's wedding ring was missing. Glass was all over the room and the bottom of a vase was lying by my wife's head. I then called the police."  
  
"Thank you," the attorney said and sat back down. Videl's attorney stood up next and walked briskly up to Hercule. "At any point during this time did you even bother to tell your daughter that her mother had been killed?" he asked Hercule.  
  
Hercule cleared his throat, "No I didn't, because I didn't think a three-year-old girl needed to know that her mother had been killed by a thief," Hercule spat.  
  
Videl glanced up, "I wasn't three," she told him. "I was five," she concluded, looking back down at her lap and the small pieces of notebook paper all over the place. She brushed them off the black skirt she was wearing and hoped no one noticed the mess she had made.  
  
Hercule looked over at her, "Oh whatever. Three, five, they're almost the same, anyway."  
  
"If you can't even remember how old your daughter was, how can you remember all these other very vivid details?" the attorney continued with his questioning.  
  
"Videl's mother looked after Videl. I was too busy to really watch after her," Hercule said.  
  
"But yet, you just told me that you were tucking her into her bed. Why would you have time to do that? I'll tell you why. Because you had just killed her mother, so her mother wouldn't be able to."  
  
Hercule stared right at the attorney, but didn't look him into the eyes, "I didn't touch my wife."  
  
"Your wife had numerous scrapes and bruises all over her body. You would come home drunk, wouldn't you? And since your wife was the first one you saw, you would take your frustration out on her!"  
  
"Mr. Walker," the judge warned, "if it doesn't have to do with this case, then we do not need to be discussing it."  
  
The attorney nodded, "It has to do with the case," he said simply before he turned back to Hercule. "And when you weren't in the mood to slap her, you would rape her, wouldn't you?"  
  
Hercule eyes widened enormously. "I would never…"  
  
"But you did. And once you had killed your wife, you still had your daughter. So once she was nine, you decided that you really needed to relieve yourself of some of that stress you always got after drinking, so you started raping your daughter, didn't you?" the attorney asked. When Hercule didn't answer, Mr. Walker stood up closer to the stand. "Didn't you?" he asked again, louder.  
  
Hercule laughed, "I've never touched my daughter! If you're done now, I need to get back to my training. All your accusations are based on what my teenage daughter told you. You have no proof. Can I get off this stand yet?" Hercule asked, turning to face the judge.  
  
"Not quite yet, Mr. Satan. Because something you said is incorrect and something else you said was a lie. You have touched your daughter and we do have proof." Mr. Walker walked back over to the table where Videl was sitting and picked up his folder, pulling out a piece of printed paper and handed it to the judge. Once the judge nodded, Mr. Walker handed the paper to Hercule who scanned over it and set it back down, "I don't understand what this is."  
  
"Well, Sir, this is our evidence. These are the results that we got when we ran a test to match semen found in your daughter's bed to you. And what luck, it did match. So now we can say that you have raped your daughter. Do you have anything to say about that?" he asked.  
  
Hercule looked from the paper to Videl, then to the attorney. "Look, I was desperate. But that was eight years ago. You can't possibly put me away for that now. I've changed my ways and haven't touched her in years."  
  
Mr. Walker looked straight up at Hercule, "We weren't talking about the rapes your committed when she was nine. We were talking about the one you committed four days ago. But now we have a confession for one and strong evidence for another. Can someone please put this man in jail now?"  
  
The bailiff put Hercule in handcuffs and carried him out of the courtroom. Videl looked up to face the judge, but he had stood up, after pounding his gravel, and left quickly. She felt a warm arm wrap around her shoulders. Videl turned her head to her right to face Gohan. She smiled weakly before covering his lips with hers. After a minute or two, Gohan pulled away just as Mr. Walker walked over to them. "I hate to interrupt," he told them, "but I do have some important news for Miss Videl that cannot wait."  
  
Videl nodded and kissed Gohan's cheek after she told him she'd find him after talking with her attorney. Videl smiled and hugged Mr. Walker quickly, "Thank you so much," she whispered, pulling away and pretending she hadn't done anything. He nodded and motioned for her to sit down.  
  
"Well, you father is going to be sentenced to the death penalty. And since I knew we had him, I had an associate of mine pull up his will before the case even started. And according to the will, everything Hercule Satan owns goes to his only daughter, which would be you. And since he is to receive the death penalty, you can go ahead and collect everything that belongs to you."  
  
"And what exactly is that?" Videl asked, slightly excited.  
  
"Well, the house, all the money, the cars, and all the commercial property he has bought," Mr. Walker told her.  
  
Videl stood up and hugged him again, "I could almost kiss you right now!" she squealed. She thanked him once again and ran outside, where Gohan and his family were waiting. Videl smiled brightly and ran right up to Gohan, jumping straight into his arms.  
  
Gohan gasped for a moment, trying to recollect the air that had been knocked out of him. He wrapped his arms around Videl's skinny waist. "I'm guessing that you're happy?"  
  
Videl looked down into Gohan's eyes. She dropped back down until her feet were touching the pavement. "Yes I am. And do you want to know why?" she asked.  
  
Gohan nodded, "Of course I do. I don't think I've ever seen you so excited before."  
  
"That's because I've never been this excited before," she told him. "I get everything that belongs to my father. Everything!" she giggled. "And you know what that means," she told him, a sly look covering her face.  
  
Chi-Chi shot the couple a look, "Well, I don't know what it means. Would you care explaining it to me?" she asked, curious, although she thought she had a clue. And she was quite correct.  
  
Videl blushed madly, "Well…" she didn't say another word.  
  
"Mother, come on," Gohan pleaded, "You can't treat me like a little boy forever.  
  
Chi-Chi nodded. "Yes, I see that. If I could, you would not have that mark on your shoulder. And you wouldn't be planning to do it again."  
  
Gohan blushed along with Videl after that comment. Chi-Chi sighed, "Go on, I guess. It's not like I can prevent you or anything. Not with Videl transporting all over the place."  
  
Goku smiled at Videl and Gohan and took a hold of Chi-Chi and Goten. Placing two fingers on his forehead, he winked and then disappeared. Videl waited for a moment before she turned back to face Gohan, "Well," she whispered, "it's only you and me now, buddy," she purred.  
  
Gohan took her mouth to his before Videl had another thought.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Only one more chapter remaining. I don't know how long it's going to be. I guess you're just going to have to wait to find out! 


	9. As Time Goes By

At World's End  
  
Chapter 9: As Time Goes By  
  
Hey everyone! This is the last chapter. Depending on how much everyone likes this story, I might do a story BASED on this one. It won't take off where this one leaves off, but it will contain the same events and I've already got a simple story line planned out. I plan to put a poll up at the fan-site, so if you would like to see that, you can visit the site and vote. Also, I am going to be putting up a preview of it for members, so you can read that first and then vote. If more people don't join it, I'm going to make it open to everyone and see how that works and see if I get more response of out it. However, you have to be a member to receive updates on stories and fan-fics, and the special previews. I do have a few members, and I love you all very much. But I also love all my readers and reviewers, so don't think that I don't.  
  
Also, once these stories are finished and have been sitting, finished, for a while, I might delete them off of fan-fiction.net and just post them at the fan-site. The url for that, once again, is http://group.yahoo.com/groups/antidarthani.  
  
Now that I'm done running off my mouth, I present you the end of At World's End.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Videl screamed in surprise when Gohan wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her into the pool, taking Gohan with her. They hit the water on their sides, creating a large splash. Videl broke to the surface and wiped her wet hair back out of her face, "I can't believe you just did that," she said to Gohan when he came up for air. Videl wiped the water out of her hair. She had been sun bathing on a warm lounge chair and gotten up to go get a glass of water when Gohan pushed her in. Well, at least she couldn't complain about not having enough water now.  
  
Gohan wrapped his arms back around her from behind and twirled her around in circles. Videl rolled her eyes and giggled. Gohan finally let her go and Videl swam away, stroking skillfully. Once she stopped, in the swallow end of the pool, Gohan popped up in front of her and scared Videl. "Stop," she cried playfully before wrapping an arm around his neck and kissing him passionately. Gohan let them sink a little into the water until their heads were completely covered. Videl kept her eyes closed and felt the cold water cover over her. 'Now this is what I call paradise,' she thought before pulling back up to get some air.  
  
"Gohan?" she asked softly.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked, looking down into her eyes.  
  
"This is perfect," she told him, smiling. "It might even be better than what I had planned on doing all day. And all night. And all day tomorrow."  
  
Gohan raised an eyebrow, "What were you planning on doing for that long?"  
  
Videl smiled knowingly. She traced an invisible twisted line around Gohan's chest, "Oh, you know. This and that." She lowered her voice a little, "Something that we would both enjoy…"  
  
Gohan pulled her closer and started swimming into the deeper water, taking her with him, "You mean, like," he paused for dramatics, "sex?" he whispered, as if he was disgusted by the word.  
  
Videl giggled and nodded enthusiastically, "But if you don't want to, I can go find someone else to share the pleasure with me. You can go home and visit your family and I'll stay here and find some random guy to screw around with and when we're done, I'll call you. Hey, maybe Clinton will want to…" before Videl could finish, she was pushed down into the water. In a sudden panic, Videl blew all the water out of her nose and mouth. Only seconds later, Gohan pulled her back up. Videl stared at him with wide eyes, "I cannot believe that you just did that to me. You could have killed me, you little bastard!"  
  
Gohan laughed at the name she had called him, "You know I would never try to hurt you. All I wanted to do was to make you shut up. But I guess that's something you are incapable of doing."  
  
Videl frowned at Gohan, but her insides squirmed with anticipation. "You want to dry off and then…"  
  
Gohan shook his head before she could finish, "We'll have plenty of time for that later. Can't we just enjoy the great outdoors?" he asked her.  
  
Videl pouted, "But I don't want to enjoy the outdoors. I want to enjoy you," she said, stressing the last word. "Come on, Gohan. Don't tell me you don't want to. Ever since the incident with my father two weeks ago, I have barely even gotten to be around you, not to mention anything more enjoyable."  
  
Gohan ran a hand over her hair, pushing it back out of her face, "We've been busy and you know it. With your father and the official sentencing and then getting new furniture and firing the staff, it's been a very hectic week, Videl."  
  
"I know that, but the week's over and now we have nothing to do…" she insisted, running her tongue along his lower lips, trying to persuade him to part them. Gohan shook his head once again, "I really need to study for the final exams. They're next week and I don't remember the last time I studied for them. I can't afford to fail them," he said.  
  
Videl rolled her eyes and took to the air only inches above the pool. She flew over to her lounge chair and picked up her towel, which she used to dry her hair off roughly and then wrap around her waist. Gohan flew up behind her, dripping water on her damp towel. Videl turned around to face him, "If you get my towel wet, too, I'm just going to get wetter, instead of dry," she blamed him.  
  
Gohan caught her lips with his. Videl forced his lips apart and allowed her tongue to slip into his mouth. God, it had been weeks since Videl had felt so good. Just as Videl began to slip her arm back around his neck, Gohan, with his Saiyan hearing, heard the phone ringing from inside the mansion. "Gotta go answer the phone," he told her simply, flying off through the gardens. Videl sighed and followed him slowly, figuring she didn't have to reach the house until he was off the phone.  
  
Videl opened the kitchen door and stepped into the warm, cozy house. Gohan was leaning against the counter, talking excitedly on the phone, to who Videl didn't know. She threw her wet towel at him. He was distracted by the phone and didn't realize the was going to hit him until it already had. Videl loved having the mansion all the herself, except for Gohan. They had fired all the help - maids, cooks, gardeners, everyone - so they had the whole place to themselves. The first thing they had done was disable all the security tapes Hercule had put up around the house Videl had never known were there. If the semen hadn't been enough in court, all they would have had to do was show the tape to the judge and jury. That's what had scared Videl the most. There had been one in her room, as well as in the bathroom located nearest to her room, the one she had always used.  
  
Videl shivered and tried not to think about it. She started to fumble with the tie that help the top of her bikini on. She figured she would be able to have it off before she reached the master bedroom to change.  
  
Videl sighed as she thought about the room she had moved into. It had been her fathers, but she had decided it would be nicer than her old room, she had gotten all new beds, of course, as to not remind her of her father, or of her father and herself. But Gohan, at the last minute, had decided he would rather have slept in Videl's old room. So once the new beds had arrived, they had slept in different rooms. That was what had bothered her the most. 'Maybe he's uncomfortable with the idea of staying here at the mansion with me now that it's an actual possibility,' Videl thought while she walked up the main stairs. She finally managed to get to blasted knot untied. She slipped it off of her head just as Gohan came walking into the family room.  
  
"Hey Videl, my mother just called to say…" Gohan froze mid-sentence when he saw the half naked Videl turn around, in the process of throwing her bathing suit top over the banister to dry. "What are you doing?' he asked nervously.  
  
Videl stared at him like he was an idiot, "I'm getting ready to change into something more comfortable. I don't know how women wear these bikinis. The bottom is riding way to far up my ass. What IS your problem?" she asked when Gohan didn't even blink.  
  
"Videl, you're standing half naked on the stairs and you're asking me what my problem is? Are you insane? A reporter could stick a camera in between the shutters and find a crack between the curtains and the window and you'll be naked for the five o'clock news."  
  
Videl started walking back down the stairs, taking them two at a time. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stood only a few inches away from Gohan, "What's gotten into you lately?" Videl swallowed, fearing the worst. "It's almost as if you don't care anymore."  
  
"Of course I care! I'm just worried about you, that's all. A lot of bad things have happened to you lately and I don't want to add to that list."  
  
Videl looked up at Gohan, "You don't have to worry about me. And I don't want you to. I've already told you that a billion times. What I want is for us to be happy, together. Not me in one room and you in the other. I don't want to have to wear three layers of clothes around you. I want to be able to walk around in the privacy of my own house naked if I want to. But what I want the most," she continued, closing the gap between their bodies and wrapping her arms around his waist, "is for us to be naked together. Up there, in my bed. Right now."  
  
Gohan kissed her gently, "We can't. Not right now, Videl. My mother just called to say that something's happened to Goten and he's in the hospital. We need to change and go meet them there."  
  
Videl gasped lightly and nodded. They both walked up the stairs and Videl turned to walked down one wing and Gohan took the other. Before he could get too far, Videl smirked, "I move all your clothes out of the dresser in there into the dresser in my room. I have no idea where you're going to or what you plan on doing there."  
  
Gohan sighed and turned back around, following Videl into her room. Once they had changed out of their bathing suits and into some warm winter clothes, Videl turned to face Gohan, "You can't be like this forever," she told him. His only response was to walk out of the room.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Do you want some of my coffee?" Videl asked, sitting down in the plastic chair next to Gohan. He had just finished off his third cup in six hours. His hands were starting to shake from the mass amounts of caffeine, but his eyes were trying to close and his body was trying to fall into a deep sleep. His eyes were bloodshot from crying. He had never faced anything so awful in his life.  
  
Videl put her cup down on the little table next to her and rested her hand on Gohan's right leg, which was the closest. She gave it a light squeeze, which caused Gohan to momentarily glance at her, "Your brother is going to be fine," she reassured Gohan, but he just gave her a quick nod and stared out at nothing. Videl sighed and got out of her seat, sitting herself back down on Gohan's lap. "Look at me," she pleaded.  
  
Gohan's eyes stared at her chest for a second before he looked up into her eyes. Videl rested her hands on his shoulders, "I know how hard this is for you, but you have to have faith in Goten. He's a strong little boy and he's going to make it through this."  
  
Gohan just nodded and turned his head to the right. Anything to not have to look at Videl. But Videl was persistent. She shifted her weight to the right and looked back into his eyes, "This isn't even about Goten, is it? I know there's something bothering you, Gohan, but for the life of me I can't figure out what the hell it is. Will you just tell me? Please?"  
  
Gohan stared right into her eyes. Videl had never seen such sadness and hatred before, "It just seems as if trouble and death follow me around everywhere. First there was Cell, and then Buu, and then your father raping you, and now my little brother is hanging on for his life. I can't help but think that it's my fault all these bad things are happening to the people I love."  
  
Videl kissed the end of his nose, "You can't blame yourself, Gohan. Bad things happen to everyone. You've got to stop trying to take care of everyone and let some people worry about themselves. It's all too much for just one person, even you."  
  
A tear ran down Gohan's cheek, "I can't handle this, Videl. What if he dies? Or what is he can't ever walk again? There are numerous things that could go wrong with him and all we're doing is sitting here." Videl shook her head, "I don't think anyone can handle this, Gohan. No one knows what's going to happen to him." Gohan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, "I don't know what I would ever do without you, Videl," he told her, resting his head on hers.  
  
++++++++++  
  
A thin, pretty nurse walked out into the waiting room. "Is there anyone here to see Goten Son?" she asked, glancing up from her clipboard. Goku and Chi-Chi stood up. They glanced over at Gohan and Videl, but they were fast asleep. The nurse looked back at the clipboard for a moment. "He requested to see a Videl Son first? Is she here?" she asked.  
  
Chi-Chi was taken back by the name Videl Son, but nevertheless, she bent down and gently shook Videl's shoulders, "Honey, wake up. Goten wants to see you."  
  
Videl's eyes fluttered open. "Holy crap. Gohan has to boniest leg in the world, I swear. I don't know how I ever feel asleep like that. Did you say Goten wanted to see me?" she asked.  
  
Chi-Chi nodded, "You're wanted first."  
  
Videl nodded and slowly slid out of Gohan's lap. She kissed his forehead as his eyes began to open and then followed the nurse back further into the hospital. "Are you is sister-in-law?" the nurse asked.  
  
"I guess," Videl answered. She didn't consider herself to be married to Gohan, but being married wouldn't be much different. Besides, Videl had never been very fond of weddings. The nurse held open a door for Videl.  
  
Videl walked into a well light, extremely white room, where Goten was sitting in the bed, eyes glued on a TV mounted on the wall. Videl walked over to the bed and knelt down beside it, "How are you holding up, Squirt?" Videl asked.  
  
Goten smiled at her, "Hiya! Have you seen my cast? It looks awesome. And the doctor said everyone gets to sign it and say really nice things that I can look at when I'm depressed. It's that cool?"  
  
Videl nodded, "What did you do to have to get that cast?" Videl asked him.  
  
Goten laughed a boyish little laugh, "It was really funny. Trunks and I were playing tag and I was it. He was flying through the words behind my house and so I chased after him, only I run right into a big tree I hadn't seen fast enough. But I'm fine and I don't even remember coming here. I must have fallen asleep."  
  
Videl nodded and kissed his forehead, reaching for a permanent marker and started to sign Goten's cast. "Why did you want to see me first?" she asked after she had finished writing her name at the end of her little note.  
  
"Well, I wanted to know something that Mommy wouldn't let me ask you before. But she won't get mad if she doesn't know I asked. Promise you won't tell anyone I asked you?" he whispered.  
  
Videl nodded.  
  
Goten leaned back against the pillows, "Well, I was wondering if you're going to marry Gohan."  
  
Videl was a little taken back by the Saiyan's question. "Gohan used to be grumpy when he came home from school before the whole thing with Buu. But since he started spending a lot of time around you, he always seems happy. And Gohan needs to be happy. I think he worries too much."  
  
Videl laughed, "Yeah I think he worries too much too. But I don't know what to tell you, Buddy. I don't know if Gohan and I will get married, but I have a feeling." Videl paused, "Can you keep a secret?" she whispered.  
  
Goten nodded and looked at Videl, his beautiful blue eyes wide. Videl smiled, "I have a feeling that Gohan and I are going to stay together forever. Would you like that? If Gohan and I got married?"  
  
Goten nodded, "We all love you, Videl. Even Mom, even though she doesn't like to show it. Dad says she doesn't want to lose her son, but Dad tells her she's got to let go sometime."  
  
"Is that why you told the nurse my name was Videl Son?" Videl asked a final question.  
  
Goten blushed before nodding. Videl stood up and ruffled Goten's hair. "I've got to get going. It's getting late. I hate to ask, but would you find if I stole Gohan away if I promised that we'd come see you tomorrow?"  
  
Goten thought for a moment before he shook his head, "You guys should go home. But you have to come visit me again."  
  
"Oh, don't worry. We will. I promise you." Videl walked out of the room. Chi-Chi quickly started running towards Goten's room and Goku started to follow her, yawning like mad.  
  
Gohan stood up to follow them, but Videl grabbed his jacket off of his seat and her jacket off of hers. "Let's get out of here."  
  
Gohan shook his head. "I've got to go see Goten and make sure he's alright."  
  
Videl sighed, taking Gohan's hand in hers and heading for the exit. "Goten's fine. All he has is a small little cast. He might have broken a bone in his leg at the most. He ran into a tree. Nothing a Saiyan can't handle. We'll come visit him tomorrow. He doesn't mind and I don't think you should either."  
  
Gohan tried to protest, but Videl keeping pulling him out, "You forget, Son Gohan, that I own that hospital now and I'm not going to let anything happen to him. Now can we please just go home?"  
  
Gohan nodded and they took to the air. The temperature had dropping tremendously since the afternoon. Videl shivered at the air hitting her. They landed inside the mansion gates in two minutes flat. Videl fumbled for her house keys, which where in her jacket that she hadn't bothered putting on. Videl finally found them and unlocked the house, throwing the door open and slamming it shut. She locked it up tightly after her and hung her jacket on the coat rack. Gohan followed her example, "I'll go get a fire started. Do you want to go fix dinner?" Gohan asked. One of the things he loved best about Videl was that she was an amazing cook.  
  
Videl yawned and stretched, "I'll just getting something out of the refrigerator. While you moved all the furniture last week, I made enough food to last you at least a week. I think I'm going to have to start cooking about tomorrow." Videl walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. She found a chicken sandwich for herself and a large pot pie for Gohan, and a sandwich and numerous other goodies. "Why don't you just come grab some stuff out of the fridge?" Videl suggested to Gohan, leaning halfway through the swinging door. Gohan didn't answer, but Videl only shrugged and sat down at the kitchen counter. She ate her sandwich easily, but by the time she had finished and settled down on the couch in the living room, Gohan had demolished half of the food in the refrigerator. Videl was thankful she hadn't told him there was anything in the freezer. He might have eaten all of that too.  
  
Gohan passed through the swinging door and sank down into the couch next to Videl, who was watching a soap opera. Gohan groaned, "You cannot seriously like this crap," Gohan said.  
  
Videl didn't say a word. She curled her legs up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around Gohan's waist, resting her head on his shoulder, "I happen to love this show, thank you very much."  
  
Gohan kissed her hair, "You're getting soft on me."  
  
"If I'm not having sex with my mate, I can at least watch other people who talk about their private lives. It makes me feel a little better by the end of the day."  
  
Gohan picked up the clicker off of the coffee table and turned the TV off. Videl stared up at him, not believing what he had done. "You're not being fair, Videl. I don't see why you are so intent on having sex now," Gohan pointed out. "It's never bothered you before. But today it seems as if that's all you can think about."  
  
"That's because it is," Videl snapped. "Don't get me wrong, Gohan, I love you and I love being curled up on the couch with you like this. But it's been weeks since we've mated and we haven't had sex since then. I just feel that ever since we mated that maybe you've regretted it. And it's killing me."  
  
Gohan sighed and pulled Videl closer, "I don't regret it, Videl. Don't ever think that. It's just that a lot of things have been happening lately and we haven't had any time."  
  
"Oh, cut the crap, Gohan. we've had time all day and you won't even touch me. You were shocked to see me topless today. You've never minded before."  
  
"Videl, your doctor called last week," Gohan told her. "And I know the truth."  
  
Videl looked up at him, "You do?"  
  
Gohan nodded, "And I can't believe you never told me!"  
  
Videl lowered her eyes, "Is that why you won't sleep in the same bed as me anymore?" Videl asked.  
  
Gohan nodded, "I'm just worried about you. But back to you not even telling me. Did you think that I wouldn't care about something like this? That I wouldn't like to know that I'm going to be a father?"  
  
"Gohan, please don't be mad at me for not telling you. The fact is, I don't know if it's yours or if it's my father's child."  
  
"Well, I do. That's what the doctor called about," Gohan informed her.  
  
Videl looked back up at him. "So what did he say?" she snapped, waiting for an answer.  
  
"When I told him who I was, he congratulated me because I was going to be a father."  
  
Videl laughed and Gohan smiled. "I can't believe you didn't tell me he called. I've been so worried about that." Gohan nodded and pulled Videl roughly against him, covering her mouth with his. Videl moaned into his mouth, telling him just how much she enjoyed what he was doing. In one swift movement, Gohan had Videl pressed down against the couch and he was on top of her.  
  
Videl threw an image of her bed into her mind and transported them into a castle of pillows and warm, expensive blankets. Videl started unbuttoning the front of Gohan's shirt, while Gohan just ripped hers clear off. Videl was going to protest, but she was a bit busy at the moment. She finally had the damn thing unbuttoned all the way. She shoved it off of his shoulders and tossed it off of the bed.  
  
"Did you really have to wear a bra today?" Gohan asked. Videl smiled at him, pushing her back up off of the bed. Gohan slipped his hands up under and fumbled with the clips. He finally managed to get the blasted thing unclipped. He tossed it off the bed before he took her mouth to his again…  
  
++++++++++  
  
Gohan ran his hand up and down Videl's slick back. Videl sighed and kissed Gohan's neck. Sometime, during the night, Videl had managed to flip them over. She made a trail of kisses down his neck to the hollow in his shoulder where her mark was. Videl licked it once. In the mean time, Gohan just enjoyed himself, breathing in the smell of Videl's hair.  
  
"That was well worth the wait," Videl told Gohan, grinning.  
  
Gohan chuckled and found her mouth with his, claiming her lips once again.  
  
"You see?" Videl asked. "This just feels so natural, to be with you."  
  
"I know," Gohan said.  
  
"You're going to be a father," Videl reminded him.  
  
Gohan smiled, "I know. And you're going to be a mother."  
  
"And we're going to take care of this little girl much better than my parents took care of me," Videl told him.  
  
"It's a boy," Gohan said, kissing her neck one more time.  
  
Videl shook her head, "No it's not. She's in my stomach. I know what my baby is going to be."  
  
++++++++++  
  
A crying sound filled the room. Videl screamed out one last time and the doctor pulled out a beautiful little girl. "Congratulations," the doctor told her, "It's a girl."  
  
Videl laughed a little, not believing the seven hours of pain were finally over. Gohan kissed his forehead and then her mouth. "I'm a daddy," he whispered.  
  
Videl smiled and nodded, "I told you she was a girl. So I win the bet and I get to name her."  
  
Gohan sighed, "I wouldn't care if it was a boy, I'd let you name our child either way after seeing you sitting there for seven hours in pure pain."  
  
The doctor handed Videl her daughter, wrapped in a baby blanket. The baby's eyes were closed and she was sleeping peacefully. "Oh God, look at her Gohan, she's so tiny."  
  
Goten came rushing into the room, followed by Chi-Chi and Goku. "Look at her!" Goten cried in delight. "She's so small. Can I hold her?" he asked.  
  
Videl nodded and Gohan lifted him up and put him down on the bed next to Videl. Videl showed him how to place his hands before handing him the baby. "What's her name?" Goten asked.  
  
Videl shrugged, "We haven't named her yet. Do you have any names that you like?" she asked Goten.  
  
"You should name her Pan," Goten said, kissing the baby's little fingers.  
  
"Where did you get that name from?" Gohan asked him, wrapping an arm around Videl's shoulders.  
  
"When I asked Mommy where babies came from, she hit Daddy over the head with the frying pan."  
  
Gohan and Videl laughed. "Pan…" Videl muttered. "I actually kind of like that name…"  
  
++++++++++  
  
That's the end, everyone! I'm listening to Matchbox Twenty right now, Bright Lights, and it's 10:30PM. I'm going to go get a shower and then I'm going to bed. Stay tuned to my author's page or fan-site for updates and info on new chapters and upcoming fan-fics.  
  
I'm going to start on the story after this one, the story of Pan, once everything else is done. Stay tuned for that as well! I hope you enjoyed! Please review and tell me whether or not you liked it and why. Also, I'd love suggestions on how you think I could improve my writing.  
  
Thanks to everyone who made it this far. This is my longest fan-fic at the time being and it might always be. You never know…  
  
Love, Anti Darth Ani 


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